


Hearing Isn’t Everything

by EvilRegalTweeba18



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Deaf Character, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 44,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25930711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilRegalTweeba18/pseuds/EvilRegalTweeba18
Summary: Emma Swan is in her last year of college. In order to graduate, she needs to take up poetry 101 class. As a hard of hearing student, things were already hard on her. Though, when her teacher Regina Mills and her start getting close, what will happen when a hearing person who doesn’t know sign language get by in the deaf/hard of hearing world that Emma lives in? Teacher/Student AU. SwanQueen happy ending.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 22
Kudos: 83
Collections: Swan Queen Supernova V: Forever Starstruck





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Regal_Panda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regal_Panda/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Hearing Isn't Everything [Fanart]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26197504) by [Regal_Panda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regal_Panda/pseuds/Regal_Panda). 



> Thank you to my beta reader Denise as well as Irene who made a beautiful manip for my story! Also, I would like to thank my friend Serena who also helped me beta my story as well because two eyes are always better than one! I am so proud to be apart of this SwanQueen Supernova. This is my first year doing it so I certainly hope everyone likes my story and I also hope this story is somewhat educational when it comes to the deaf world! Also, all poems in this story are mine and mine alone. They’re also copyrighted so don’t steal them! Other than that, enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

Emma woke up in her one-bedroom apartment, ready to start her first day back to college. It was her last year before being able to graduate for her Arts degree. She got out of her bed and got dressed. She put on her usual blue jeans and black boots with a white tank top and a white bra. Once she got dressed, she went into the bathroom to fix her hair and makeup. She put black eyeliner on that was a tad bit too dark, but yet it looked good on her with white eye shadow. She figured her makeup was good enough on just her eyes for today. She didn’t need to go all out. Although now it was time to do her hair. She looked to the clock, and it read 7:30 A.M. "Shit, I’ve only got 30 minutes to get to school.” Emma grabbed her hair tie from the bathroom counter and decided to put her hair up in a messy ponytail. It was only her first day back, so it's not like she wanted to get dolled up for someone special. She hasn’t even dated anyone for a few years anyway. Not since she’s been in college. She will admit, she’s had some one-night stands with a few men and women when she needed to let loose, but that was about it.

As Emma grabbed her backpack and slowly made her way out the door with her keys in hand, she locked the door behind her and got in her little yellow bug and drove off to school. She was so excited to be back because she had wanted to see what this year could bring her. Emma had a few ideas about what her goals after graduating. She even had a few jobs lined up for her to apply after she got out. One of these jobs was to become a children’s poetry author. She figured they made a lot of money, and she always loved writing for children. Plus, writing for children was the only reason why she went to college in the first place. She could easily have gotten a job at her mother’s restaurant as a cook or even a busser. She didn't exactly know how to cook, although she was good at following recipes. She used to work for her mother's restaurant back when she was in high school part-time after school to make extra cash for things she wanted, such as more clothes, a phone, etc. since her mother never wanted to pay for a phone for her. Although working at the restaurant was great, she didn’t see herself doing that all her life. It just wasn’t her thing.

As she got halfway to school, she realized she left her hearing aids at home. “Damn it! I have to go back to get them. I can’t get through the day without them!” she thought as she made a quick U-turn and made her way back to her apartment. Emma was hard of hearing. She could hear somewhat but not as much as most people. Emma always felt the need to try to be like all the hearing kids at school back in her elementary days. Although, as she got older, she realized that there wasn't anything wrong with her. She once read a quote from someone famous in the deaf world by the name of I. King Jordan that read, "A deaf person can do anything a hearing person can except hear.” This quote gave Emma the courage and the strength she needed to get by in life. It gave her hope that someday she could be a famous writer in the deaf community. Even though she wasn't deaf, she was hard of hearing, which honestly didn't matter. No matter what, she had the hope and drive, which was all she needed to become the writer she always wanted to be.

As she pulled back into the parking lot of her apartment complex, she quickly got out of her yellow bug with her keys in hand and made her way back up the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked her door and quickly went inside her apartment to her bedroom to grab her hearing aids. Once she had her hearing aids in her hand, she practically sprinted back to her car and went on her way to school as quickly as she possibly could. Once she got to her college, she looked at the time and the time read 7:50 A.M. 

“Oh crap, I’m gonna be so late!” Emma thought to herself. Emma quickly grabbed her backpack from the passenger seat and got out of the car. As she was walking onto the school campus, Emma took her class schedule out of her bag since she couldn’t remember what class she had that day. As Emma read the class list, she saw her class was Poetry 101. Emma would have this class every Monday and Thursday. On Tuesday, Emma would have Math and Science classes. Emma knew she was going to dread those days. She always hated math and science. On Wednesdays and Fridays, Emma had an English class. Tuesday's were the only days she had two subjects in one day, although Emma was okay with that. As Emma put the schedule back in her backpack, she started looking for the Poetry 101 class. 

Ten minutes had now passed, and it was officially 8 A.M. Her class was now starting, and she was now officially late. “Shit, I haven’t been late for any class since my first year of college! Stupid new alarm!” she thought as she was still searching for the classroom. Emma had just gotten a new alarm for the deaf. It flashed and vibrated in addition to the alarm sound, so it would effectively wake her up on time. Before this, all she had was a regular alarm that a hearing person would use. Although, in the last year, her hearing had gotten worse, and she needed an adjustment in her hearing aids from the audiologist to make her hearing aids louder. Emma started not to be able to hear her alarm go off during the summertime when she tried getting up early because she was sleeping in too much while she wasn't in school. She knew she had to change to a deaf alarm system before school started back up, so that is what she did. She wasn't used to the alarm vibrating as much, but the vibrations and the flashing lights were what worked in waking her up. Although, this morning, her alarm went off 30 minutes late, and she wasn't sure as to why. She told herself she'd look at her alarm clock later after she got home from school.

As Emma walked down the hallway searching for her Poetry 101 class, she saw a classroom that had an interpreter just signing away whatever the teacher was saying. Emma saw the interpreter had long red curly hair and had a long green jacket that came down to her knees with black pants. “This must be my class. I don’t know anyone else here that’s deaf or hard of hearing like me.” Emma thought to herself. She pulled the door to the classroom open and walked in. The teacher and everyone in the room watched as she walked into the room. Emma felt too nervous and embarrassed, knowing that everyone was watching her. The teacher looked to Emma with somewhat confusion.

“Yes, can I help you?” asked the teacher

Emma looked to the interpreter as the teacher spoke to her, and right then, the interpreter knew that this was the student for whom she was supposed to be interpreting. 

“Is this the poetry 101 class?" Emma said. She chose not to sign it, and yet her voice sounded completely normal. You couldn't tell Emma was hard of hearing. For a second, Emma saw the interpreter’s face as if they looked to her like she couldn’t have been the deaf or hard of hearing student for whom she needed to interpret.

The teacher looked at Emma with a soft smile. She had dark brown hair down to her shoulders, and she wore a black pantsuit. Emma noticed she had a scar on the top right of her lip, and for some reason, it looked incredibly sexy to Emma as if it was her signature look. Emma wasn't quite sure how she got the scar, and she wasn't about to ask, and she certainly didn't want to get caught just staring at her while everyone in the classroom was staring directly at her. Emma then tried to keep her eyes on the interpreter in an attempt not to let anyone or even the teacher herself see how attracted she already was to her.

“Yes, this is the poetry 101 class and who may I ask are you?” asked the teacher

As the interpreter signed what the teacher said verbatim, Emma then looked to the teacher, trying not to show too much attraction and again used her voice, and this time she signed at the same time.

"My name is Emma Swan. I'm the hard-of-hearing student who took up this class. I'm so sorry for being late. My alarm didn't go off on time, and I don't exactly know why, but I promise it won't happen again!"

Emma saw the interpreter's face, and this time she saw that the interpreter looking more at ease knowing that she was for sure, the student for whom she was supposed to be interpreting.

“Oh, I see, well then, go and sit down. Next time your almost 15 minutes late to my class, you’ll get extra homework. Do I make myself clear?”

As the interpreter signed what the teacher said, Emma then shook her head yes and quickly sat down next to the interpreter was. The teacher waited for Emma to get fully seated before she went back to what she was teaching. 

“First, I will introduce myself once more. My name is Miss Mills. Please do not call me by anything else of the sort. Do I make myself clear?” said the dark-haired teacher as she then looked straight to Emma as if she should never show up late to her class again.

The whole class remained silent. Emma knew she defiantly didn’t start her day off to a pleasant start. But at least 15 minutes late was better than 30 minutes late like she had done the year before with this one teacher by the name of Mr. Gold. He was one of the most demanding teachers Emma has ever had. His work was hard, and she always needed to stay a little bit longer after the class had ended for extra time for tests he gave out. She remembers that she was the only one in the whole class that had additional time on tests, and for all the people who failed the course or didn't do as well, they always seemed jealous of her for getting that added test time. Mr. Gold never liked giving people additional time on tests, but the school board made him give Emma more time due to her hearing loss. At first, Emma felt embarrassed by it, but then she realized how much she thanked the school board for letting her have that extra test time because Mr. Gold didn't play around. He was one strict teacher, she thought. Emma was wondering if this Miss Mills would be the same as Mr. Gold was. If so, she just knew she’d be spending more time after class for tests, but to be honest, Emma didn't exactly mind it because she kept thinking about how beautiful this teacher was. Emma knew she was always more into women than men, but there was something very different about this woman that made Emma question her existence. 

Some guy sitting next to Emma saw how Emma was staring at Miss Mills and slowly wrote her a small note and handed it to her without the teacher seeing. This guy had short brown hair and was wearing a white shirt with a grey jacket and blue pants. Emma gave this guy a confused look, but she took the note anyway and slowly opened it up to read it.

“I wouldn’t try anything with this teacher. I see you staring at her. Everyone sees her beauty. You’re not the first person to think they can get a shot with her for at least one night even. But no matter how hard they try, nobody succeeds, so if I were you, I'd just not even worry about it and do the work handed to you without any question. By the way, my name is Robin. It's nice to meet you. I don't know sign language, so that's why I wrote you this note. I hope that's okay.”

Emma read the note silently to herself, not even paying attention to what the teacher was saying or even doing. The interpreter saw that Emma wasn’t paying attention and silently put her hands up to get Emma’s attention. Although Emma didn’t see it, she was too focused on what the note said. Again, the interpreter tried getting Emma's attention, but this time, she didn't wave her hands, she stomped her foot. Emma immediately looked up from the note and saw the interpreter. The interpreter slowly put both hands to her face, both palms inward, and waved her hands back and forth. Emma recognized the sign right away. The motion translated as "PAY ATTENTION." Emma then kept her eyes on the interpreter for the rest of the class time.

As the class ended, Emma gathered up her things into her backpack. Everyone left the classroom one by one, leaving only Emma, the teacher, and the guy named Robin, who gave her that note as well as the interpreter. Robin slowly tapped on Emma’s shoulder after she had gotten Everything in her backpack. 

"Do you read lips?" asked Robin.

Emma made a confused look and tried so hard to understand what Robin had said, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't make out what was said.

“I’m sorry, I honestly cannot understand what you had said. I might be able to speak fine and normal, but please understand that my ears do not work as well, and I cannot read lips. I'm sorry." Emma said and slowly started walking out of the classroom. Although, another foot stomp stopped her. She turned around and saw the interpreter trying to get Emma's attention. As Emma walked up to the interpreter who was now right next to Miss Mills, Emma began to become a little nervous. As Emma made her way closer to them, she noticed Robin had made his way out the door of the classroom. It was now just her, the interpreter, and Miss Mills in the room.

“I was wondering if you understood everything that I had taught today." the interpreter signed, and Emma immediately knew the interpreter was interpreting for the teacher. Emma looked to the teacher with an “oh” face.

"Oh, um, yes, I understood everything," Emma said with her voice

Miss Mills didn’t seem all that impressed with Emma’s reply.

"Oh, is that so? Because I saw that note that Robin had given you. This year is not Robin's first year in my class. It is his second year in my class, and I know he can cause some trouble with some of the students. He tends to spread rumors about me to everyone. Although, he thinks I have no idea that he calls me the evil queen behind my back. I want to know what that note had said.”

Emma then grew very nervous. Her heart started pounding in her chest so fast as if she was about to have a mini heart attack. Her heart hadn't beaten this fast since Emma was with her ex-girlfriend Belle. She was madly in love with Belle, but Belle fell in love with Mr. Gold after she had graduated her college two years before Emma was in her first year in college, which was one of the reasons that made her class with Mr. Gold last year even harder. Emma still talked to Belle occasionally, but they weren't exactly friends since the break-up. Emma found it hard to be friends with someone who she was still madly in love with at the time. Although, now thinking about Belle, it didn’t hurt as bad anymore. Emma thought maybe that was a good thing.

"Oh, um, the note Robin gave me was nothing. It was just something stupid.” Emma said.

Miss Mills still wasn’t satisfied.

"Well then perhaps you don't mind me taking a look at that note? If it were something stupid, it wouldn't be too hard for me to see for myself, am I correct?"

As the interpreter signed what Miss Mills had said verbatim, Emma grew even more panicked. She didn't want her to read the note. She couldn't seem to let this teacher know she was staring at her like a crazy kid in love at first sight. That just could not happen.

"Oh, no, no. I can’t show you. It’s kind of not something I feel comfortable with showing. I’m so sorry!” Emma replied. 

Again, this time Miss Mills thought that the note had said something rude about her. Maybe some kind of new rumor about her that she was determined to find out. Miss Mills smiled at Emma softly.

“Emma, if you don’t show me that note at once, not only will you have extra homework from me, but you’ll also have a test every week!”

Emma then grew angry. She started getting furious with Miss Mills, and this time, she just signed angrily and had the interpreter do her job and interpret.

“Excuse me? You can’t do that! That is not only unfair but against the school rules, and don’t think I won’t tell the school board about you! If Robin nicknamed you the evil queen, then now I can see why.” 

The interpreter said out loud what Emma had signed, and that’s when Miss Mills let out a laugh as if Emma couldn’t do anything about it.

“Emma, is it? Well, you see, I am the chairwoman of the board at this school. I teach one day a week, while the rest of the week, I'm on the board. Do you understand? So yes, I actually can give you more homework and tests all I want, and there's nothing you can do about it. Now, show me that note!”

As the interpreter signed what Miss Mills said, Emma felt as if someone had just slapper hed in the face. Ema hadn't felt this way since elementary school. Emma thought that this teacher certainly lived up to the nickname that she earned from the students. No matter how beautiful she was, she certainly had a dark side to her.

Emma gave Miss Mills the most defeated face ever, took the note from her backpack, and slowly handed it to her. As Miss Mills read the message, Emma's cheeks felt as if they were heating up. Miss Mills looked up to Emma after reading the note and saw how red Emma's face had become. It was as if Emma looked like she was about to cry for being so embarrassed. Miss Mills quickly folded up the note and gave it back to Emma.

“Well then, I certainly hope you can keep up with my class, Miss Swan. I don’t want to distract you, no.” 

With that remark, Miss Mills began to smile as if Emma just complimented her even though Emma didn't see it like that. Emma only nodded her head and quickly ran out of the room. Miss Mills saw that Emma had been embarrassed, but she figured she'd be okay.

Later that night, all Emma could think about was what had happened. What would happen on Thursday when she had to face Miss Mills again? What would happen if Emma grew even more attracted to her over the weeks? She didn't know what she would do, but she defiantly wasn’t getting any sleep tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma woke up on Wednesday, one of the days for her English class. Emma had still not figured out what was wrong with her alarm. It kept going off 30 minutes late, so today she was going to call her friend Killian over to see if he could fix the alarm clock for her. Emma had been late for school twice already. Today would be the 3rd time if she didn't hurry and get ready for school. Emma's friend Killian was a computer wiz, so he always knew how to fix all sort of gadgets, like computers, alarms, radios, etc. Emma knew that if she didn't call him, her alarm would still be unreliable and she'd be late for Miss Mills' class tomorrow. She never wanted to be late to that dark-haired teacher's class ever again. Punctuality aside, the fact was that she certainly couldn’t get Miss Mills out of her head. All Emma could think about in math and science class yesterday was Miss Mills. She needed to try to get her mind on something else today, like her actual English class.

As Emma hurried out of bed and got dressed, she put her hair in a messy ponytail again with black eyeliner on her eyes with green eye shadow. After she had gotten ready to go out the door, she looked at the time. The time on the clock read 7:30 AM. "Shit, I gotta go now!" Emma thought to herself. She grabbed her hearing aids from the charger, which was on her bedroom dresser, as she went out the door with her backpack and keys in hand. Emma had the type of hearing aids that were rechargeable. So she never had to worry about changing the batteries in her hearing aids, like she had to do back in her high school days with her old set of hearing aids. She honestly preferred these types of hearing aids. They were much better and easier to use and maintain. These hearing aids also had Bluetooth, so she could quickly hook up her hearing aids to her phone and listen to her music at a certain volume that could allow her to understand and hear adequately.

As Emma got in her yellow bug and drove off to school, she was debating whether texting Killian would be the best route to ask him to come by and check out her alarm clock after her class was over. But then she remembered that Killian wasn't much of a texter like she was, and it would probably take him days to reply to her message. So, Emma just drove to school in silence. As she got to the school, she parked her little yellow bug in the parking lot and got out of the car. Emma looked at her phone for the time, and it was now 7:45 AM. This was the fastest she had gotten to school yet since her alarm wasn't working correctly. Although, at least now, Emma had the time to get to class on time. She was pretty happy about that. It had been quite an accomplishment given the circumstances.

As Emma started walking to the school campus from the parking lot, she saw a black car parked a few rows above where she had parked. At first, she thought that the car looked nice and that it must be an expensive car. Although that thought went away fast as soon as she saw it was none other than Miss Mills who was getting out of that car. Emma started to grow panicked. She didn't know why exactly. Why was it that this dark-haired woman made her feel this way? She didn't feel this way about any other teacher she had, even her math teacher, who was quite beautiful.

Emma kept walking, looking straight ahead, hoping that Miss Mills doesn’t spot her and say something to her. Although Emma did want to talk to this woman, she just didn't know how, especially after the incident in her first class with her. Miss Mills was not only her teacher, she was also a member of the school board. So, Emma knew that this kind of relationship just wouldn't work out for her, no matter how much she felt attracted to this woman. Emma kept walking, acting all nonchalant, trying to get to her English class on time. She was now passing Miss Mills’ car in the parking lot, and to her surprise, Miss Mills stopped her. Miss Mills noticed Emma walking and put her hand up as if to say "stop." Emma knew that this wasn't going to end well, because she knew that if Miss Mills talked to her, she wouldn’t understand a word of what she was saying. Although to Emma’s surprise, when she got closer to Miss Mills, she noticed that she had her phone out and was typing something on the screen. Emma started to get a little confused. She thought that maybe she had gotten the wrong idea from Miss Mills hand gesture, that Miss Mills wasn't trying to get her attention after all and was perhaps just trying to wave hello. This gesture made Emma blush with embarrassment for a few seconds. As Miss Mills stopped typing away on her phone, she looked to Emma with a smile and then showed her what she had written on her phone. Emma then looked at the phone and started to read the text displayed on the screen.

"I know you can't understand what I am saying if the interpreter is not here, so I decided to talk to you this way. I hope this is alright. I’m glad to see that you managed to actually be on time for school today, I’m sure it must have been quite difficult to achieve that. I just wanted to remind you not to be late for my class again tomorrow morning. I'd hate to be forced to keep you after class to do extra work. Those are my rules, no exceptions.”

Emma then looked at Miss Mills with an “oh” face. Emma then replied verbally.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be late for your class tomorrow. I’ve been having issues with my alarm clock, but I am calling my friend Killian after class on my video phone to come by later and fix my alarm. The only reason why I'm not late today is that there was hardly any traffic for some reason. While I'm not complaining, I also want to thank you for remembering about my hearing loss. Most people tend to forget that about me, especially when they have just met me, because I talk completely normal and it may confuse them at times. Most of the people that are deaf or hard of hearing have a deaf accent. I don't because I was born hard of hearing, and my hearing was not as bad once. It has gotten worse over time.”

Miss Mills smiled softly at Emma and then started to type away on her phone once more. Emma knew that she was typing something on her phone for her to read. This gesture made Emma feel more at ease. Her heart was pounding in her chest the whole time, and she wondered if Miss Mills could hear her heartbeat so loud. After Miss Mills stopped typing, she showed Emma the text to read.

"You are very welcome. I have a cousin who is deaf, but she doesn't sign. She reads lips and talks with a deaf accent, and you somewhat remind me of her by the looks. You are both blondes. I know it can be difficult for you, though. I may not understand it completely because I do not live it as you do, but I can still imagine, and I feel sorry for you."

Emma then smiled softly and looked up to Miss Mills. Emma could feel her stomach starting to get butterflies. She was profusely hoping that Miss Mills couldn't tell. 

"Oh, wow, that's a surprise. I never would've guessed that you had a deaf cousin. I have deaf and hard of hearing friends, and they all sign. I don't even know how to begin to read lips. When you sign, it's like the hearing world doesn't exist, and it's like a whole new world. Hearing isn't everything when you don't have it at birth. You can't miss what you never had. Although I do miss the hearing I once had, that is because I was not born deaf, and my hearing kept getting worse over the years. Just know that for most deaf people, this isn't the case." Emma said with her voice

Miss Mills then grew very amused at what Emma had just said. She now wonders how her deaf cousin had learned to read lips if Emma can't seem to do it. It kind of made Miss Mills want to text her deaf cousin and maybe ask what it took for her to learn to read lips, and if maybe there was a way that Emma could try learning to read lips. Miss Mills started typing away on her phone again, but she did so pretty fast. Once she finished, she showed it to Emma.

“All that sounds interesting to know. Maybe you can learn to read lips with the proper teaching for it? But for right now, let's both get to our classes. I have a class to teach while you have a class to get to before you're officially late yet again.”

As Emma read that text, she knew she better get to her class now because she only had 10 minutes to find the classroom and sit by the interpreter. Before Emma started sprinting off to find her class and letting Miss Mills do the same, Emma said one thing.

"I don't want to learn how to read lips. Please understand that. Not everyone that's deaf or hard of hearing reads lips, and they get by in life just fine. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to learn how to sign to communicate better with the deaf and hard of hearing. I understand that learning sign isn't for everyone, but I can bet you that you can learn it just fine if you tried it out yourself. Have a good day, Miss Mills! I will see you in class tomorrow!”

With that said, Emma left Miss Mills in awe in the parking lot as she sprinted off to find her English class. Once Emma found her class, she went into the classroom and was very happy that she wasn't late today. Maybe luck was on her side today, or perhaps something in the universe wanted her to run into Miss Mills? Emma wasn't sure which was it, but she definitely wasn’t complaining about it. She was happy. Although, now she began to like Miss Mills a little bit more than she did when she had first met her two days ago. Emma knew that this wasn’t good at all. She needed to get Miss Mills out of her mind so she could focus on her English class. Emma concluded that Miss Mills was nicer when not in the classroom teaching, and when nobody else was around. She wasn't sure why she was so lovely to her, or why she made her feel that way, but she wasn't going to question it.

As Emma was trying to pay close attention to what her English teacher was teaching, Miss Mills kept popping up in her head. She didn't know how to get her out of her head. Once the class was finally over, Emma gathered up her things in her backpack and went out of the classroom door to find her little yellow bug to go home. She had homework to do for the English class due next Wednesday. She wondered how she was going to get it done, since her mind was somewhere else most of the class. She figured she'd do it on the weekend when she had more time to sleep.

As Emma got home from school, she went directly to her video phone. She found Killian’s number on it and dialed it up. As the phone was ringing, an interpreter came on the screen. Emma waited for Killian to answer the call before signing what she wanted the interpreter to say. After a few rings Killian picked up the phone.

“Hey there love, how are you doing this evening?” said Killian.

Emma started signing, and the interpreter on the screen spoke out what Emma was signing.

"Hey Killian, it's me, Emma. I was wondering if you could come by now or in a little while when you have the time and check out my alarm clock. I don't know what's wrong with it. I set a time to wake up in the morning for school, and it keeps going off 30 minutes late. Maybe you can fix it for me? I can’t be late for school again tomorrow because my teacher is a hard one to follow. Please?”

Killian heard these words mouthed by the interpreter and decided to help Emma. He told her that he wasn't doing anything important and he would come over right away. . Emma thanked him and hung up the videophone. 30 minutes later Emma's doorbell rang. She didn't hear it go off, but she saw the flashing lights go off. Every time someone rings Emma's doorbell, flashing lights go off all over her house to let her know that someone is at her door. Emma then went to her front door and opened it. She saw Killian on the other side of the door, smiling. She always knew he had a big crush on her. It was so easy to see and notice. Emma didn't feel the same way towards him and he knew it. However, this didn't stop him from flirting with her every time they saw each other, hoping to convince her to go out with him on a date.

"Hello, Killian. Thank you so much for coming over. My alarm clock is in my bedroom just down that hall to the right. Come in and go get a look at it, please." Emma said with her voice.

Killian smiled flirtatiously and came directly in the apartment door and into her bedroom. Killian looked at the alarm clock and saw it had some glitch and was on a 30-minute delay. He worked on it for a few minutes and removed the setting and adjusted it. He let her know that it was all fixed. Killian knew some sign language but not enough to be skilled at it, or to be able to have a mini conversation voice off. He only knew some signs, and he knew all the ABC's in fingerspelling. Though, that was it.

Killian tried asking Emma out once more before finally leaving to go home. Emma said 'no' yet again. Deep down, Killian always knew that Emma liked women more than men. He just thought maybe he could change her mind about dating him. Though, it never worked out in his favor.

After Killian left, Emma then fixed herself some dinner. She heated a tv dinner and drank some hot tea. Emma figured that was good enough for tonight. She honestly wanted to hurry up and get to bed so she could see Miss Mills again tomorrow. Emma already had this woman in her head 24/7, no matter where the professor was or what the woman was doing. After Emma had eaten her dinner and got ready for bed, she set her alarm clock to wake her up by 6:00 AM so she could shower before school. Now that her alarm was working correctly, Emma knew she would wake up at a decent hour. After Emma put on her pajamas and brushed her teeth, she slowly got herself under the covers and drifted off to sleep, thinking of none other than the beautiful dark-haired woman that was her teacher. She hoped she could learn what her first name was, and that they can at least be friends, although she was already falling head over heels for this woman. She wasn't sure how this could work out, but she was definitely going to try. She figured if her ex-girlfriend could fall in love with Mr. Gold, who was also Belle’s teacher at one point in time and how they were now together and very happy, then maybe things could be the same for her and Miss Mills. Emma only hoped that Miss Mills was into women as she was, and only time would tell, she would find out one way or another.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma woke up the next morning, ready to start her Thursday class of Poetry 101 with Miss Mills. Her alarm actually worked for the first time in a while, since Killian fixed it yesterday. Emma got up out of bed and got her outfit ready for her shower. She grabbed a towel from the linen closet in the hallway, then went into the bathroom with her towel and clothes in hand. Emma put the towel and clothes near the sink and then jumped in the shower. After she finished, she dried off and got dressed. Emma was sure that today was going to be a good day. Emma didn't feel like putting her hair up in a ponytail today, so she let it stay down. Wavy golden locks of curls were the style Emma wanted to wear today. She put on her makeup and then went back to her room to check the time. The time was now 7:00 AM. "Perfect timing," Emma thought to herself.

As Emma grabbed her hearing aids and put them in her ears, she grabbed her phone and put it in her pocket. She then sprinted out the door with her backpack and left to go to school. Emma hoped that Miss Mills was as kind to her as she had been yesterday in the parking lot, although she wasn't sure if that was going to happen. Emma saw another side of Miss Mills yesterday, and she liked it, much better than the first meeting she had with her on the first day of her class last Monday. The whole drive to the school, all Emma could think about was Miss Mills. She wanted to know more about her, and she wanted to meet her deaf cousin. Emma thought to ask her out, but knowing that she is her teacher, she knew it would be a bad idea. She had to come up with an ingenious plan to spend more time with Miss Mills, to talk to her and get to know her, on a different setting other than the classroom. It had to be something creative.

As Emma got to school, she got out of her yellow bug and walked straight to class. It was now 7:30 AM. Emma was 30 minutes early to class. She hoped that maybe she didn't have to wait for Miss Mills to arrive to open her classroom door if it was locked. Although, to Emma's surprise, Miss Mills was already in the classroom, writing something on the board as Emma walked in. It seemed like the universe was again conspiring in her favor, this was a very lucky strike, Emma was officially the first one to her class. She wondered if she was too weird, she got nervous. Maybe Emma should just turn back around before Miss Mills saw her walk in and just wait 30 minutes for class to start and for more people to arrive. Although, right as Emma was about to turn around and walk out of the classroom, Miss Mills turned around and saw Emma. Miss Mills smiled at Emma and walked up to her. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and wrote something on the screen and showed it to Emma.

“You’re here awfully early. Why are you here so early? Class doesn't start for another 30 minutes."

Emma read the text on the screen and then panicked a little bit. Emma wasn't sure why she was even here this early herself, other than seriously wanting to see Miss Mills. Emma just wanted to talk to Miss Mills alone before class started, although Emma wasn't going to tell Miss Mills this. After Emma took a deep breath, she then went on and tried to make up a little white lie in hopes that Miss Mills would believe her.

"Well, you see, my alarm actually works now since my friend Killian came over and fixed it for me yesterday, so I got a fresh start bright and early to school today. Although, I didn't realize how early I was until after I walked in. Do you think I can stay until the class officially starts? If not, I could always go and grab something to eat. It turns out I forgot to eat breakfast this morning anyway." Emma said with her voice.

Emma knew that wasn't entirely a lie, but she really couldn't think of anything else to say. She tried not to show her attraction to Miss Mills so much, especially since Miss Mills knew that Emma liked her already from that note she made Emma give her to read last Monday in her class. Although the one thing Emma did lie about was about her eating breakfast. Emma doesn't eat breakfast. Emma always waits until lunchtime to eat. Though, she didn't want Miss Mills to know that. She had to think of something to say for Miss Mills not to be so harsh about making her leave the classroom if that's what she wanted Emma to do. Miss Mills studied Emma’s face for a few seconds before finally typing something on her phone. Once she finished typing, she showed the text to Emma.

“You’re lucky I am here this early, Emma. I could've easily been right on time to my class like I was yesterday. That's why you saw me in the parking lot yesterday. I was running late myself, just not late enough to be late for my class. Although, since you're here, I'll let you stay. You can go put your things down at your seat and then help me by writing this poem on the other side of the board. I will give you the poem. All you have to do is copy it. Do you understand?”

Emma nodded, hurried to put her things by her seat, and went back to Miss Mills, who was giving her the sheet of paper with the poem. Emma read the poem and smiled. It was such a beautiful poem for kids. Emma then began writing it on the board.

_I am a bee flying in the sky._

_Then a bee hit me flying by._

_As I was crashing to the ground, I realized this was the end before my eyes._

_The next thing I remember when I woke, that I was not dead; however, I hobbled away all broke._

Emma couldn’t help but laugh when she wrote the end of the poem on the board. She honestly thought it was a funny but yet a good poem. She wondered what Miss Mills was teaching today with this poem. What was the point of this particular poem? Emma was curious, and once she finished writing, she asked Miss Mills about it.

"I was just curious. Why did you need this poem on the board? What are you going to teach based on this poem?”

Miss Mills smiled at Emma and then grabbed her phone and started typing a message. Once done, she showed it to Emma.

“This is one of the things I wanted to show the class today because I am giving everyone an assignment. You will just have to wait until class starts to find out.”

Emma laughed softly and then went on and changed the subject.

"Oh, I see. Alright then. I will wait for the class to start and then I will find out. By the way, you said you have a deaf cousin who doesn't sign and only reads lips, right? Do you know why she doesn't sign? Why does she choose only to read lips?"

Miss Mills gave Emma a look of curiosity herself because she honestly wasn't sure herself. She then looked at her phone and started typing a message and then showed it to Emma.

“Honestly I'm not sure. I only know that my cousin's parents didn't want to learn sign language, and they didn't want her to learn it either. They wanted her to act like a hearing person more so than a deaf person. I guess they didn’t want people to reject her off the bat. I was going to text her after class today to see how she’s doing, we are very close,I will ask her. Now I’m curious about it. I just accepted their choice to raise her that way, but I never questioned it. It was not my place to question their parenting really. After talking with you yesterday, it made me want to text her. I’ve been busy and haven’t texted her in a while. Although as usual, I was busy yesterday after class trying to catch up on some paperwork I have to do for the board, so I didn't have the time to text her then."

Emma gave an “oh” look and then wondered if Miss Mills’ cousin went to the school for speech therapy. Usually, when a deaf person is oral, they learn to speak and read lips from speech therapy. Although Emma didn't want to inform Miss Mills of this, she wanted her cousin to tell her. She figured it wasn't her place to say anything. Emma only wondered how her cousin managed to succeed because most deaf people fail and prefer to sign.

“Oh, I understand. I was just curious. I prefer to sign. I only use my voice for hearing people like you who don't know sign language! Although, Miss Mills, would you ever want to try to learn sign?" said Emma.

Miss Mills just gave Emma a very shocked look, but then smiled softy to Emma and again went back to typing a message on her phone for Emma to read. Once done, she showed the text to Emma.

"I never really thought about it. I will admit, I wanted to back in my college days though I took Spanish class instead. I think it's too hard to learn now.”

Emma read that and just laughed.

"I think you can still learn and I’m sure that you'll learn it fast. It's honestly not that hard. Trust me." said, Emma.

Right after, Emma said that a few people walked into the classroom and sat down. Emma looked at the time on her phone, and it read 7:50 AM. The class was supposed to start in 10 minutes, which means Emma should go back to her seat now. Emma smiled at Miss Mills and then went to her seat and waited for class to start. As more people came in, Emma noticed the interpreter walking in and sitting down in front of Emma, waiting for Miss Mills to start the lecture so she can begin interpreting. As ten minutes went by and everyone was all situated in their seats, Miss Mills smiled and looked to the class.

"We have two things we will be working on today. The first thing is writing poetry for fun, like for a loved one for which you care. The second is writing poetry for children. Like maybe a small children's book. The first poem you see on the board is something you would write if you love someone. The second poem is for kids. Do you see the difference? I want you all to write me a poem of your own about someone you care for, and I want it by the end of the class time is over. But before you start working on your poems, I’ll go over some basic tools that will come handy for this assignment and to improve your craft as we move along in this semester’s program. Then your homework for me will be for all of you to write a children's story poem like I have demonstrated on the board here. Any questions?” said Miss Mills.

Emma focused on the interpreter signing exactly what Miss Mills had said, and then Emma looked around to see if anyone had any questions. No one did.

"Good. Let's get to work," said Miss Mills.

Emma then looked on the board to see what the first poem Miss Mills had written was about. The poem Emma saw her write on the board when she first walked in the classroom 30 minutes ago, although she didn't pay any attention to what it said then. Although now she knew she needed to read it to get an idea of what she needed to write herself.

_My love for you will always be._

_You always know how to bring out the best version of me._

_I held you in my arms, and I knew._

_That I’d spend the rest of my life saying how much I love you!_

Emma then realized what kind of poem she would write before class ended. Emma smiled like a kid in love and started writing on her paper. She couldn’t avoid feeling curious as to who was the author of the poem, and who inspired it.

_I see you standing there, smiling at me._

_Can you tell how hard it is for me to breathe?_

_You take my breath away every time I see you._

_You never make me feel blue._

_I think I’m falling in love and I don’t know what to do._

_Maybe you feel the same way about me too?_

_Although, only time will tell._

_So until then, I hope you stay swell._

As soon as Emma finished writing that, class time was up. Emma let everyone in the class go first as they gave their poems to Miss Mills. Once everyone left, but Emma and the interpreter, Emma stood and gave Miss Mills the poem and smiled softly. Then, Emma waved goodbye to the interpreter and Miss Mills and slowly walked out of the class and drove home. During dinner time, Emma had ordered herself Chinese food and then ate her dinner while watching TV. After she ate, she got ready for bed. Emma changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth. She took out her hearing aids and put them on the charger. As soon as she was about to drift off to sleep, her phone buzzed. Emma opened her eyes and looked at her phone. Someone with a number she didn’t recognize texted her. She opened it up and read the screen.

“The poem you wrote today in class, who was it about?”

Emma read the text message and almost had a heart attack. She didn't know who this was, but she determined to find out. Emma replied to this random number.

“Who is this?”

After a few minutes later, a text message buzzed on her phone. Emma hurried to read it.

“Miss Mills. I hope you don’t mind. I got your number off from your school records. Now please tell me who your poem today was about?”

Emma's heart was now beating fast in her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Was this real, or was someone playing tricks on her? She didn't know. Though, she desperately hoped this was truly Miss Mills texting. Emma took a few minutes to think of a reply and then texted back.

“Isn’t that against the rules? Won’t you get in trouble?”

Emma waited a few minutes, and then her phone buzzed again. Emma opened the text and read the message.

“I won’t tell if you won't. I am sorry to text you so late at night, Emma, but the poem you wrote earlier today made me want to ask you who it was about, and I figured since you can't hear me, why not text you?"

Emma's heart was still pounding in her chest. She wasn't sure what to think. Although she sincerely hoped this wasn't a joke because if it was, this wasn't a nice one. Emma gathered up her thoughts and thought of what to say next. Emma then began texting the person back.

"If you're really Miss Mills, tell me, who do I remind you of? You told me I remind you of someone the other day. Who was it? If you answer correctly, I'll believe that this is Miss Mills. Otherwise I’ll dismiss these messages as the prank it seems to be."

Emma then got up out of bed and went to the bathroom. Once she came out, she looked at her phone to see if the person texted her back, and they did. Emma opened up her phone and read the message.

“I told you that you remind me of my deaf cousin because you're both blondes. Now, do you believe me?"

Emma now began to feel more at ease; knowing this person was truly Miss Mills. Although, now she wasn't sure what to do. Why would Miss Mills reach out to her this late at night to ask this. What fiber had her poem touched in Miss Mills to prompt this late texting. Now that Emma had her number, Emma would have to fight the urge to text her after this exchange of messages. Once Emma thought of what to say, she replied to the text message.

“Okay, I believe you. Although I won't tell you who my poem is about, not right now. Maybe some other time. I need to get to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Miss Mills.”

Emma then began to lay back down on her bed and got back under her covers. Once she got comfortable, her phone buzzed. Emma then opened the text and read it.

"I understand. I will text you tomorrow, Emma. But do me one favor, call me Regina. Only call me Miss Mills during my class time. Goodnight.”

Emma just smiled widely, and she couldn't help but feel very happy. "Regina," Emma thought to herself. “Such a beautiful name!” Emma said silently. Emma texted back “Goodnight” and then tried to fall asleep. Emma kept thinking of Regina. How she was so attracted to her already, and she barely even knew her. She just felt this strong connection to her immediately after meeting her. She was not questioning what she felt, she was just embracing this moment. Though Emma didn't care, she fell asleep with a smile on her face that couldn't go away.


	4. Chapter 4

It was Friday morning when Emma woke up. Emma began smiling like an idiot in love when she realized what had happened last night. Now that Emma had Miss Mills' number, she would have to try her absolute hardest not to text her all the time. Although, if she could, she'd text her every hour of every day nonstop. Emma had English again today. She slowly got out of bed and grabbed her things to take a shower before getting ready for class today. As Emma hopped in the shower and started showering, all she could think about was Miss Mills. Emma then remembered that Miss Mills told her to call her Regina, and at that very moment, Emma started to smile and bite her lip a little as the water was pouring down on her. She felt so in love already, and she couldn't help it. Emma had only just met her, and in just a few days, all this had happened. Emma wondered if maybe Regina felt this way about her, although she wasn't going to ask openly. Emma wanted to get a date with her first, and to do that, she needed to play it smart.

As Emma  was done showering and got dressed, she put on her makeup and again left her hair down in golden curly locks. Emma grabbed her hearing aides and backpack and sprinted off to school. As she got to the school campus and parked her car, Emma got out of the car and started walking to class. Emma almost had a little mini panic attack when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Emma stopped walking  and took out her phone from her pocket and read the text. Emma noticed that it was the same number  that texted her last night. Emma's heart stopped for a few seconds realizing that Regina just texted her. Emma  hadn’t  saved her number  on  her phone yet. She was too tired last night,  so she just went  back to sleep  right after they finished texting. Although, now Emma was going to save Regina's number to her phone. Emma unlocked her phone and opened the text message thread to read it.

"Hello, Emma, how are you? Is there any way I can see you in my classroom after class today?"

Emma wondered how Regina knew she  would be at school  for  English today. But then she remembered that Regina was on the school board and could've just looked up what classes she had. For most people, how Regina acted towards Emma would be considered bizarre,  maybe  even inappropriate,  but Emma didn't mind it at all. She very much liked it. As Emma read the text that Regina sent her, she then texted her back, smiling.

“I am doing fine today so far. Thanks for asking. I was going to ask how you knew I had English class today, but then I remembered that you could've just looked up my class schedule,  although I don't mind it. My class starts in 10 minutes. I am walking to class now. Once the class is over, I will gladly come over to your classroom to see you. But may I ask why?”

Emma then went on and continued walking to class. It was getting chilly out now,  since it was fall, so Emma didn't want to  stay  out in the crisp air waiting  for  Regina's text reply. So she went on and walked inside the school campus where her English class was. Once Emma got inside, her phone buzzed. Emma immediately rushed to look at it.

"You’re  right Emma. I did look up your class schedule. I hope that was alright. I need to see you in person, and it really can't wait until you’re  back in my class on Monday!”

Emma read that text and immediately began to grow panicked. Why did Regina have to see her today, and with such urgency? What was so important? Was something wrong? Emma kept thinking of every bad thing that could be wrong but decided to text Regina back as if nothing was panicking her.

“Alright. If it’s that important to you, I will come to your classroom after my English class, as I said. I will see you in an hour."

Before she forgot, Emma saved Regina's number on her phone. She didn't want to lose her phone number, and now she really couldn't wait to see her after class today, although, Emma was still panicking about all the things that could be wrong, she was also excited to be able to see Regina face to face today. Emma walked into her English class sat next to the interpreter and waited for the class to start. When her phone buzzed again. Emma looked at the text message that Regina just sent her.

"Thank you, Emma. I will see you in one hour!"

Emma started to smile again like a child in love. She wondered if anyone noticed her smiling foolishly at her phone, although she didn't care too much if people saw. It's not like they knew who she was texting anyway. As class started, Emma couldn’t wait for it to end. This was going to be the longest hour of her life. Or at least it felt like it. The class time ran so slow for Emma. Emma's teacher reminded everyone about their homework assignment that was due next Wednesday. Emma knew she was going to have to finish that homework assignment as well as Regina’s this weekend. She pretty much knew what she wanted to do for her English homework, but she still wasn't exactly sure what to write for Regina's assignment, although Emma wasn't going to focus on that right now.

As class ended, Emma gathered up her things and sprinted out the door and headed over to Regina’s classroom. Emma was practically running. By the time she got to Regina's classroom door, Emma needed to take a few moments to breathe before walking in. She inhaled and exhaled slowly. Once she was able to breathe normally again, Emma opened the door and walked in. Emma couldn’t help but lose her breath completely when she saw Regina. Her breath got caught in her throat for a few seconds. Regina had a red dress that was so tight it showed every curve of her body. The dress had quite a cleavage too. Emma thought that dress was more appropriate for a date than for teaching a class, though she was not complaining. Regina looked stunning.

As she walked closer to Regina, who was sitting at her desk, Emma realized that someone else was sitting next to Regina at her desk. Someone blonde and someone she didn't notice from afar because Regina blocked the blonde's view from the door. Emma grew panicked now, knowing she wasn't alone with Regina. She wasn't sure what this was about, but Emma knew she couldn't back down now. So, she walked into the room as composed as she could manage to be with this unexpected circumstance.

Emma was now standing face to face with Regina and this mysterious blonde woman next to her. Regina smiled at Emma and grabbed her phone and began texting away. Once Regina was done texting, Emma's phone buzzed. Emma knitted her eyebrows and wondered who the hell could be texting her now and why Regina randomly put her phone down after clearly typing something down for her to read. Emma knows that Regina is aware that she can’t hear her very well, so obviously she wasn't sure what was going on. As Emma grabbed her phone from her back pocket and looked at the screen, she began to feel more at ease knowing that the person who just texted her was none other than the woman standing right in front of her in that beautiful tight red dress.

"Hello there, Emma. I will talk to you like this instead of always giving you my phone to read a text when it's so much easier just to send you  the  text. I hope you don't mind. This woman next to me is my deaf cousin I mentioned. I told you I  was going to text her yesterday, remember? Well I did, and she asked me if she could come by and see me after my class today, I said yes.  I told her all about you and how you were practically deaf yourself but didn't read lips. She then wanted to meet you badly. So, meet my deaf cousin, Kathryn."

Emma read that text and made an “oh” face. Her jaw just dropped. Emma was so scared that this woman was someone from the school board who was going to fire Regina for looking up her number from her school records. Although, now Emma felt so much more at ease and  shocked at the same time. Emma then  began  to speak verbally. 

  
“Oh, hi. I’m Emma. Emma Swan. It's nice to meet you, Kathryn!"

Emma then stretched out her hand to shake Kathryn’s. Kathryn immediately took Emma’s hand and shook it firmly. After Emma introduced herself, Kathryn began saying something that Emma couldn't understand. Emma looked to Regina, who smiled at her and then started texting on her phone. Once Regina was done texting, Emma’s phone buzzed. Emma then quickly read it.

“Kathryn just asked if you would like to come to lunch with us if you're not doing anything. She said she would love to get to know you and if you’re willing to tell her more about your hearing loss. Like, how severe it is maybe? I would love for you to come with us as well. I'm not sure why, but I like having you around. You will have to follow behind us in your car on the way to the restaurant. It'll have to be a restaurant out of town, so we don’t run into anyone from school who could recognize you or me and see us together after school hours and off campus. I don't want to get you or myself in trouble. The school policies regarding teacher-student relationships are quite strict, but I think you can benefit from spending some time with Kathryn, and we can all enjoy a good meal while at it. So, what do you say?”


	5. Chapter 5

Emma made an “oh” face to Regina when she read Regina’s text message. She desperately wanted to spend time with Regina off the school campus, and even though it wasn't just the two of them, she was going to take any chance she got. Emma then started to smile softy at Regina and to Kathryn and spoke verbally.

"I would be honored to go to lunch with you two, and I would love to go more in-depth about my hearing loss!” 

Emma then saw how Regina's face went from just smiling to smiling with a sparkle in her eyes. She didn't have that sparkle in her eyes a few seconds ago. Emma figured it was because she agreed to go to lunch with them. Although Emma already knew exactly how she felt towards Regina, she felt that Regina just might feel something for her too. That sparkle in Regina's eyes told her so. Regina then started typing away on her phone, and once done, Emma's phone went off.

"Alright then, let's go! You should go out first and get into your car. I will text you when to meet me at the curve of the school campus parking lot, so no one notices that we are leaving together. It'll just look like we're leaving at the same time.”

Emma read that text and then said okay and gave Regina and Kathryn a smile before leaving the classroom. Emma walked to her yellow bug and hopped in, she waited for Regina's text to meet her at the campus parking lot curve. As she waited, she decided to text her best friend Ruby and tell her that she wouldn’t be able to make it to their lunch appointment day, as they originally had planned. Emma figured that being with Regina in any way possible was way more important to her. Not that Ruby wasn't important to her, but she couldn't say no to Regina,not only because of the way she felt, but because she also couldn't say no to her deaf cousin. Kathryn wanted to get to know her more and she came all the way here just to meet her. After explaining all this to Ruby through text, Ruby said she understood perfectly and hoped that Emma had a fantastic time with Regina and her cousin at lunch,but said she'd be over sometime this weekend to hear all about it. Emma felt so blessed to have such an understanding best friend like Ruby.

As Emma was still waiting in her car, she got a text from Regina to drive up behind her black Mercedes at the end of the parking lot. Emma texted her back, telling her she was in a little yellow punch bug, and that she'd be pulling up behind her in a few minutes. With that said, Emma turned the car key on and drove up to the end of the parking lot. She was right behind Regina’s black Mercedes in no time. Emma’s phone went off again with a new text message.

"Follow behind me. It's a 30-minute drive to the restaurant out of town. Don't lose me, but don't ride up on my tail either. I hate that!" 

Emma smiled at that text and texted back saying, "Okay!" and they began driving on their way. On the drive overEmma decided to listen to music on her phone via hearing aids. Since her hearing aides were already connected to her phone through Bluetooth, all Emma had to say for the music to start playing was, "Hey Siri play my apple music," and her apple music playlist would then begin to play through her hearing aids. So that is what she did. Although Emma couldn't hear much of the music, she listened to enough to know what she liked and didn't like, and her hearing aids made the music louder for her to actually be able to hear some of it. Emma was very appreciative of this.

Emma drove behind Regina’s  black Mercedes keeping a reasonable distance between their cars. She didn’t want to give Regina any reason to be upset. She sang along to whatever song she liked. Some songs had low volume, and she didn't entirely understand why, but some songs were so loud she could hear them perfectly. Not as perfect as someone with a good hearing capability can, but accurately enough to be able to tell that the singer had a fantastic voice and to be able to understand what the lyrics of the song were. 

As Emma followed Regina's car into the little mini parking lot of this restaurant, Emma knew that they had to be there by now. This restaurant wasn't just a pit stop anywhere, although Emma didn't feel like 30 minutes had passed. It felt like 15 minutes to her. Emma parked next to Regina's car.She grabbed her phone and turned her Apple Music off before getting out of the vehicle. Once she was out of the car, she walked up to Regina and Kathryn and led the way into the mini restaurant.

As they all walked into the restaurant Emma noticed the sign on the restaurant said Dolphin Blue. She’s never heard of this restaurant before. Emma wondered precisely where this was because she hadn't paid that close attention to where she was going. She was just going and following Regina's car right in front of her the whole way. Emma knew she should've paid more attention to where she was. Although, once they all walked inside and sat at a booth, Emma figured that this was a cute little restaurant, and she was sure the food here was excellent, especially if Regina liked it. Emma looked at the menu. It was a lot of seafood, but there were other things too, like chicken and fries. Emma decided she wanted the chicken sandwich with fries. Once they all got their order in and got their drinks, Kathryn pulled out a pen and notebook and started writing. Once she finished writing, she gave the notebook to Emma to read.

"I will talk to you like this. I don't have your number to text you as Regina does, and I don’t want her to interpret for me. I hope you don’t mind.”

Emma read that and smiled at Kathryn. 

“I don’t mind it at all. I understand completely. You asked me to tell you more about my hearing loss. So, for starters, I was born hard of hearing. When I was 6, my mom got my hearing tested because I always drove her nuts when I kept asking her "what?" like all the time, and I still couldn't understand what she was saying half the time, even when she repeated herself over and over. She got fed up and figured something was wrong with my hearing, and to her surprise, there was. I got my first set of hearing aids at age six, and I've been wearing them ever since. The doctor said it has to do with something of my nerve, so my hearing will worsen over time. I can hear some things if they're loud enough, like music, and I'm going to miss that if my hearing keeps getting worse over time. My ability to hear became worse throughout last summer, and my audiologist had to fix the volume in my hearing aids to my new level."

Emma saw Regina’s face once she said that. Emma noticed that Regina was very curious about this conversation, and she looked as if she wanted to know more, although there wasn't any more to tell. Emma pretty much told her whole story right there in the shortest version she could. Kathryn then started writing on the notebook again, and once done, she gave it to Emma to read.

"Oh, I see. So, from what Regina has told me, I gather you only know sign language and don't read lips like I can?,. I only learned to read lips so well because my parents put me in this deaf school that teaches all deaf students to read and understand lip movements. Sometimes they would have to put our hands on their throats. We can try to feel the voice through the vocals of the throat also to talk. They taught us to talk and read lips. Not every student in my class passed,though I did. I worked very hard to pass and be good at reading lips and talking. I wanted to be more hearing, although I wasn't."

As Emma read that, she began to understand Kathryn’s point of view. Not all deaf people choose to be involved in the deaf world, and they try so hard to be like hearing people. She wasn't going to judge their decisions, knowing that everyone is different. Although, she desperately hoped that Kathryn wasn’t going to try to get Emma to try to learn to read lips. Emma won’t do it. She is happy the way she is. Emma smiled at Kathryn and then at Regina.

"Oh, I understand. I am glad you were able to learn how to read lips. I cannot seem to do it. It's just too hard for me, and I rather use sign language. But I understand that you don’t and that’s okay.” said Emma verbally.

Kathryn understood Emma’s point of view as well and said she understood. Emma thanked her for that. Emma then looked at Regina and smiled at her. Emma felt her cheeks get warm, which could only mean one thing, she was blushing. Emma now felt kind of embarrassed because she couldn’t stop blushing, she felt too self-conscious infront of Regina. Although Regina just looked as if she was enjoying watching Emma blush.

As the waitress came and brought them all their food, Emma felt pleased, knowing she was quite hungry. Emma noticed that Regina had gotten a hamburger with fries. She thought about getting that herself, for it looked like the only meat on the menu besides the chicken. Though she desperately only wanted the chicken today. As they ate their food, they all continued to talk. Emma talked more about her hearing loss and how her hearing aids can connect to her phone through Bluetooth, and that's how she can listen to the music that she liked. Though, once they finished eating, it was time for them to go their separate ways. Emma didn't want to leave Regina already, but she knew she had to.

“So, are you driving Kathryn home? You drove here together which means someone must’ve dropped Kathryn off at the school campus to see you, right?” Emma asked Regina verbally.

Regina then looked at Emma and smiled. She got her phone out and started typing away. As Emma's phone buzzed, Emma smiled at Regina before reading the text.

"Yes, Kathryn's friend dropped her off at the school campus because I said that I would drive her back home. I had a really nice time eating lunch with you today, and I'm pretty sure Kathryn enjoyed herself as well. Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

Emma looked at Regina, still smiling.

“I would love to do this again sometime!” said Emma.

Emma got up from the table after paying and slowly walked out of the restaurant with Regina and Kathryn. Emma wouldn't let Regina and Kathryn pay for her meal, so Emma paid for half the bill and was happy to do so,though Regina didn't look so pleased. Emma knew that Regina wanted to pay for the full tab, but Emma didn't think that was fair, especially since this wasn't even a date or anything. It was just going out for lunch with her deaf cousin as friends. Emma couldn’t bare for anyone to pay for her lunch if it was a friend’s thing. That’s just how Emma was.

As they all walked to their cars, Emma gave Regina and Kathryn a smile and told them that it was kind of them to invite her. Once they all said their goodbyes, Emma got in her yellow bug and put GPS on her phone so she could find her way back home, since she didn't pay any attention to where she was going when following Regina up here. When the GPS was all ready, Emma went on her way back home to the apartment complex that she called home. 

Once she was there, she decided to work on her English homework that was due next Wednesday now instead of tomorrow, so she could get it over and done. When Emma was done, she looked at the time, and it was now around evening time. Emma felt pretty tired, so she decided to go to sleep early tonight. Emma got a tv dinner from her fridge and cooked it. When she was eating, a text beamed on her phone. Emma grabbed her phone and looked at her messages. Regina texted her. Emma started getting butterflies in her stomach as she smiled.

“I’m surprised you didn’t text me when you got home. I figured you would have. Though, since you didn't, I decided to text you. I hope your evening and night are going well. Remember that you have that homework assignment from me due Monday during class. I can’t wait to see what kind of children’s story you come up with.”

Emma still didn't know what she would write for her children's story assignment, but she would figure that out tomorrow. Right now, the only thing she wanted to do was text Regina and have dinner, which she did.

"I didn't text you earlier when I got home because I wasn't sure that you wanted me to. I figured you didn't want to be bothered by me, though I did think about it, and I did have a good time. I will do my children's story assignment tomorrow, and even though I'm not sure about what to write about, I hope you will like it once I do.”

As Emma continued to text Regina and eat, she soon finished her food and then decided to get ready for bed. Still texting Regina as she changed into her sleepwear, she felt exhausted from school. Emma desperately needed sleep. As Emma brushed her teeth and went to the bathroom to take off her makeup for the night, Emma then decided to tell Regina how tired she was and that she needed to get some sleep. 

Emma didn't want to sleep, but her body was saying otherwise. If Emma could choose, she'd text Regina all night long. Though, this just wasn’t the case here and then. As Emma went back to her bedroom and took out her hearing aids from her ears and put them on the charge, she got into her bed phone in hand and texted Regina.

"I would really love to text you all night long though classes have worn me out this week. Is there any way I can text you tomorrow? Would that be okay with you?"

As a few minutes are gone and passed, Emma waited anxiously for the text reply, and as Regina texted her back, she quickly read it.

"Yes, you can text me tomorrow, Emma. I understand completely. Goodnight!”

Emma immediately texted Regina back “Goodnight!” and then slowly drifted off to sleep. Emma had a fantastic day today, and by the way this first week of school had gone, she could tell that this last year of college was going to be a good year. Emma only desperately hoped that the relationship she has now semi-formed with Regina doesn't fade away. She hoped it would grow stronger. Although, she knows only time will be able to tell.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma woke up the next morning feeling much more herself. She got a good night's sleep, although it was now noon. Emma slept in all morning. Sleeping this late was Emma's usual routine. She'd always slept in until noon when she didn't need to get up early for school. She didn't have a job right now, so her mother helped her pay for her college classes. Emma thought that maybe she should find a part-time job, but college always tires her out too much. This year was the last year of college, and then she would find a full-time job as some kind of writer like she wanted to be. 

As Emma got up and got out of bed, she took a shower and got dressed in a white tank top with blue jeans and black boots. Then she got some lunch from her fridge and started heating it in the microwave. It was just a spaghetti can, something fast and easy to make. Once the food finished heating up in the microwave, Emma grabbed it and went to sit on the couch to eat while watching some TV. As Emma started eating her food with the TV on, she thought about Regina. She wondered what she was doing. "What does Regina do on the weekends when there's no school?" Emma thought to herself. 

Once Emma was done eating, she put her bowl in the sink and rinsed it with water. She then decided to text Regina. Emma honestly missed seeing her face. Emma desperately wished to see her today or sometime this weekend, although Emma knew that was never going to happen. At least she could text her. She was pretty happy about that. Emma grabbed her phone from the charger in her bedroom, went back to the living room, sat on the couch, and texted Regina.

"Hey, how are you today? I will be doing your homework assignment soon. You can't see it until Monday though. I'm still actually not even sure what to write. Maybe you can give me some ideas on what to write?"

Emma was smiling at her phone, waiting for Regina to text her back. Emma knew that this wasn't healthy to do, but she didn't seem to care. Regina was so beautiful, and she couldn't help but be ultimately in love with her already. Emma felt it was kind of strange that this had never happened with any of her exes before. So why had it happened with Regina? Emma couldn't understand. It was almost as if Regina cast a spell on Emma and made her fall in love at first sight with her, precisely what had happened. Emma knew there was no such thing as magic and spells, so this was all Emma's heart. Emma knew that love could happen at first sight, although she never thought it would happen to her. 

Emma's phone buzzed, and Emma jumped. She practically almost fell off the couch losing her train of thought. Emma immediately looked at her phone and smiled when she saw that Regina texted her back. Emma quickly opened up her phone and read the text message.

"Hello, Emma, I am doing good today. I was wondering when you were going to text me today. I was up all morning waiting. As for your assignment, maybe write about something you like or liked as a child? Maybe that will inspire you? Like, maybe write about your favorite flower and make it talk, which can bring a laugh and joy to a kid's imagination? That was what this assignment was all about."

After Emma read the text, she began thinking of some ideas for her assignment. She used to love ladybugs as a kid. Maybe Emma could write about that? She needed to write and think of something. After Emma gave it a little thought for a few minutes, she then texted Regina back, smiling.

"Oh, I like that flower idea, although I won't be writing about that. I did think of something that I used to love as a kid, so maybe I'll write about that. Thank you for your help. I didn't text you early this morning because I usually sleep all morning on the weekends. I'm not much of a morning person. Although, I assume you are?"

Emma decided to get her notebook out and start writing down something. She thought maybe the words would just kind of flow out of her. Emma went to her bedroom and grabbed her school backpack. She took out the notebook that she used for her class with Regina and then grabbed her pencil. Emma then went to the kitchen table and sat down. Right when Emma was about to start writing something down, her phone buzzed on the little mini table where she had left it next to the couch. Emma immediately got up from the kitchen table and went over to the couch and grabbed her phone. As Emma started reading the text that Regina sent, Emma slowly walked back to the kitchen table and sat down.

"Well, I'm glad I could help. I am a morning person. I wake up every morning at 8:00 AM on the weekends and 6:00 AM on the weekdays. Every once in a while, I may sleep until 10:00 AM on the weekends if I've seriously tired myself out."

Still smiling at her phone, Emma began texting back.

"Oh, wow, that's too early for me. I prefer to sleep in all morning when I don't need to get up so early to be somewhere like school. Though, if you ever asked me to do something with you in the AM, I'd gladly wake up early."

Once Emma hit send, she immediately grew a little panicked. She didn't believe she just said that. It wasn't like Emma and Regina were good friends yet, and now Emma figured she just messed it up by sending that text. Emma thought it was still too early to say something like that to Regina, and she now regretted it. Emma wasn't sure what to say from here. But she figured she needed to try to correct herself somehow. Right as Emma was about to send another text explaining how Emma didn't mean that, Regina had already texted back. Emma quickly read it.

"Oh? Is that you trying to tell me you'd do anything for me, Emma? I might just hold you to that!"

As soon as Emma read that, she smiled and slowly began to feel more at ease. Emma now knew that Regina must feel something for her too. She knew that no other teacher in their right mind would reply like that to a message like the one Emma had sent, and she also knew that no teacher in their right mind would randomly steal their students numbers from their school records and text them. So no matter who Regina tried to fool, Emma knew she couldn't fool her. Not about this anyway, although Emma liked it. She thought she could get a date with Regina although Emma was too scared to ask her yet. 

Once Emma gathered up her thoughts to figure out how she was going to reply, she texted Regina back.

“That was definitely me saying I’d do anything for you. Although right now, I am going to write my children's poem for your class assignment. I can't do it while texting you because it distracts me. I will text you when I finish if that is alright with you?"

Emma then began wondering exactly how she wanted to start this poem off. Emma knew she used to love ladybugs as a child, so she knew she was going to write something about a ladybug. As Emma was trying to gather more thoughts on how to write this poem, her phone buzzed with another text. Emma quickly read it.

“I distract you? So now you say you’d do anything for me, then you say I distract you? Mmm, you're sending some mixed signals, Emma. But I'll let you get your assignment done now. Plus, I wouldn't want to give you a bad grade in my class for not doing the homework I assigned.”

Emma wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Emma just smiled again and put the phone down. Did Regina just hit on her? Emma wasn't entirely sure, though Emma knew she needed to get this assignment done and fast, so she could hurry up and text Regina again. Because honestly, that was all Emma wanted to do today, just text Regina all day. Emma didn't care about anything else. She only thought about texting Regina. 

As Emma began to think about her poem again, she finally thought of an excellent way to start the poem off, and after the first words the rest just started flowing out of her. Emma was always good at poetry, so once she started the rest just flowed out naturally. It was still the opening lines that would get her stuck, thinking on how to start; where she would always have writer's block even before she started writing. Emma was certainly glad that today wasn’t one of those days. As Emma finished up her poem, she decided to read it to make sure it made sense.

_I am a ladybug walking on the ground._

_Then I decided to fly around._

_As I was in the sky, I saw a bee and decided to make friends._

_Although, that bee had a stinger and had other plans._

_It tried to sting me, but I got away._

_I hid on a flower, but the bee showed up and decided to stay._

_So, I waited until he flew away._

_As I was getting ready to fly away, I saw another ladybug come my way._

_As it landed on the flower next to me, we made friends happily._

_We decided to fly away together back to my home on another flower._

After Emma reread her poem, she figured it was good. Emma then closed her notebook and put it back in her backpack along with her pencil and then decided to text Regina again.

“Alright, so the poem for your class is done. You will see it on Monday. I think it came out pretty good.”

After Emma texted Regina, she then looked at the time and the time read 7:00 PM. "Wow, it's already 7?" Emma thought to herself. Emma felt kind of hungry again now, so she figured she should eat something, but there wasn't much food at the apartment. Emma needed to go out to the store and get some groceries. Emma knew that if she didn’t go to the store now, she would have nothing to eat tomorrow when she woke up. So, Emma grabbed her red leather jacket from her bedroom and then headed off to the store. Once at the store, Emma's phone buzzed, and Emma quickly read it.

“I am glad your poem turned out good to you. I will debate that when I grade it. I hope your night is going well. It certainly took you long enough to do my homework assignment. It's been a few hours by now. Why would it take you so long? You didn't write a book, now did you?"

Emma made a small laugh at Regina’s remark and decided to text her back.

“I didn’t take THAT long to write your homework assignment. It was a little short children’s poem just like you wanted. I just kept fixing it because I wrote something down, then I decided to change it, and it takes me a while to think when it's something I've never done before. I have never made a children's poem before. I do want to become a writer and write children's books, although I never challenged myself to do so. I even have a job opening waiting for me when I get out of college this year as a children's book writer. So, your assignment helped me with writing my very first one. Thank you for that."

After Emma texted Regina back, she then got out of her car, walked into the store, and grabbed some groceries. She grabbed the ingredients needed to make meatloaf, although Emma was so not making that tonight. Tonight Emma wanted something fast and easy because she didn't feel like cooking tonight. Emma thought she needed more spaghetti cans because those were fast and easy to prepare, especially when she had school during the week. So, Emma went to the isle where the spaghetti cans were at and grabbed enough to last her for two weeks. She then grabbed some more TV dinners and a few other things she felt she needed. When she finished, she checked out and went back to her car with her groceries in hand. Once home, she put her groceries away and then got out a tv dinner and cooked it in the microwave. As soon as the TV dinner was ready, Emma went to the couch, put on her TV, and started eating. Emma got only a few bites of her food before her phone buzzed in her pocket. She quickly put her dinner down on the mini table next to the couch and grabbed her phone out of her pocket to read the text message. 

“I am happy that you already have jobs lined up for after you get out of college. Maybe I will have more children poem assignments for everyone in the future to help you out. I’m not sure. I have other things to teach, although I'll think about it.”

No matter what Regina said, Emma always smiled. She just couldn’t help it. Regina made her smile. Emma decided to take a few more bites of her food before texting back, still trying not to smile as much when chewing her food. Once she swallowed her food, Emma then began to text Regina back.

"Well, I appreciate the gesture, but you don't need to do that. I will be alright. I will practice writing more children story poems on my own in my own free time. But thank you. I appreciate it.”

After texting Regina back, Emma began to eat more of her food again. Once she finished eating, she decided to get ready for bed. Emma went into her bedroom and grabbed her pajamas from her dresser, and changed into them. Then she went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Once done, Emma put her hearing aids on the charger and went back into the living room to grab her phone, where she had left it to get ready for bed. After picking up her phone, Emma went back into her bedroom and got into bed. Emma knew it was way too early for bedtime, but she had nothing to do, and she didn't want to stay up watching TV. Emma felt that maybe she could get up early tomorrow and do something. Emma didn't know what but just something different; entertaining. She would think of something in the morning. Emma set her alarm to wake her up by 10 AM so at least she could get some sort of sleeping in time. Once her alarm was set, Emma looked at her phone and saw that Regina had texted her back 10 minutes ago. Emma then opened up her phone and read the text message.

“If you say so, although, what are you doing tomorrow? Maybe you would like to come with my ten-year-old son and me to the fair? I understand this is breaking all the teacher/student rules here, but we have already broken many of the rules so far, so I figured, why not ask you anyway? The fair is out of town about an hour away, so there is no one to spot us. What do you say?"


	7. Chapter 7

Emma got out of bed and thought to herself for a few minutes after reading Regina's text. Regina didn't seem like a mother. Emma was shocked that Regina even had a son, although Emma now knew that Regina had a son, she was still madly in love with her. Emma didn't care that Regina was a mother, though Emma was interested in knowing who the father of this child was. Emma figured she'd ask more questions at the fair when she was face to face with Regina. Emma decided she wanted to go; it was time to text Regina back.

"You have a son? May I ask how old is he and what his name is? I would love to go to the fair with you, and I would also love to meet your son. Thank you for inviting me. Though, would you please inform him of my hearing loss before meeting him tomorrow, so I don't disappoint him in any way. I wouldn't want him to think that I am ignoring him when in reality, I just can’t hear him all that well to gather what was said?”

Emma figured asking for the boy’s age and name was appropriate enough to ask through text. She thought she at least needed to know that much. So, as Emma waited for Regina to text her back, Emma grew very anxious. She didn't know what to do except just wait and stare blankly at her phone waiting for a text again. Maybe that was weird. Perhaps it was odd, but Emma didn't care. All Emma cared about was texting Regina and making sure exactly how all this is going to take place before falling asleep tonight. As Emma was lost in her thoughts, staring blankly at her phone, her phone finally buzzed with a text back from Regina. Emma immediately read it.

"His name is Henry, and he's ten years old. I named him after my father, who died of a heart attack before Henry was born. Although they never met, I figured the best way to honor him was giving my son his name. I will make sure he knows about your hearing loss tomorrow when he wakes up, and I inform him that I am bringing a friend with us to the fair. I'm pretty sure he will be extremely happy. I am going to need your address to where you live so I can pick you up. Unless you want to meet me at the fair instead?"

Emma’s heart started racing fast in Emma’s chest. She could literally hear it beating. That’s how fast it was beating. She wondered if she maybe had the same effect on Regina. She desperately hoped she did. Once Emma gathered up her thoughts on how to properly reply, she began texting back.

“You can pick me up. I don’t know my way around out of town. I only know about this area. I've lived in this area all my life. I don't wanna get lost with my GPS trying to find you or the fair. I’d be devastated if I couldn’t find the fair, or you. My address is 781 W Maine St., Storybrooke Lane. I'm pretty sure you already know the zip code. Although, if you don't, I'll gladly give it to you. “

After Emma texted Regina back, she again stared blankly at her phone screen, waiting for Regina to text back. She already began to miss seeing Regina face to face, though now that she was going to see her tomorrow and also meet her son, who she knew nothing about until now; she felt so much happier. It felt almost as if the universe was pulling them together in some way. Emma believes that things happen for a reason. Her relationship with Belle didn't work out in the past, and at the time, she thought it would end her. Though, now she sees the light at the end of the tunnel. She sees her life with Regina. Maybe Emma is just thinking way too ahead of time. Regina never said this was an actual date or anything. So maybe Emma just needs to relax, but how? How can she relax when all she wishes to do is pull Regina into a deep passionate kiss and just make her the happiest woman on Earth. Now Emma feels she's probably taking things too far. "Get it together, Emma. Calm down; this isn't a date." Emma said to herself. Emma came back to reality when her phone buzzed. Emma quickly read the text.

“Yes, I know the zip code. I will pick you up tomorrow around 6 pm. Please be ready, Emma! My son will not let me hear the end of it if we get to the fair late. He loves going to the fair.”

Emma smiled at that text and then imaged what tomorrow may be like. She wondered what Henry looked like. What was he like? Emma couldn’t wait to find out. She then began texting Regina back.

"I will definitely be ready by 6 pm tomorrow. Don't worry about that! I won't let your son be late for the fair. I promise. I am going to get some sleep now, but I will text you tomorrow. I will see you tomorrow, Regina. Goodnight and sweet dreams.”

Emma looked at the time, and it was now 7:45. It was still fairly early to go to bed, but Emma had nothing to do and she was still kinda tired from school. She hoped Regina wouldn't think she was weird for going to bed this early. Although, now thinking about it, she thinks it might have been a bad impression to set for Regina. Maybe she should just stay up and text Regina all night. Before Emma could gather more thoughts, her phone buzzed again, and Emma quickly read the text.

“You called me Regina instead of Miss Mills. Thank you for listening to me. Just remember not to ever call me Regina during my class time. I can't have any students pick up on the little relationship we've got going on, that wouldn't end well for either of us. But anyway, I understand your going to bed now. I think it's still too early for bed, but I understand if you're tired. I will see you tomorrow, Emma. Have good sweet dreams!”

After Emma read that, she began smiling even wider. She knew it was early, but she was tired, and she really wanted to get to sleep. Though, if Regina needed her to, she'd stay up being as tired as ever just for her. Just to make sure Regina knew she was there for her. Now Emma was overthinking again. Emma needed to try to stop thinking about Regina and get her speculations of what’s going to happen tomorrow out of her head and just fall asleep. Though, that just wasn't going to happen. Emma drifted off to sleep, thinking about Regina. No matter what Emma did, she just couldn’t help but think about Regina.

The next day Emma woke up. Her alarm went off at 10 am just like she set it to. Emma then began realizing what exactly was going to happen later that night. It all started to resurface in her memory. Emma immediately got up out of bed, grabbed a towel from the closet in the hallway and hopped in the shower. She didn't know what she wanted to wear yet, so she figured she'd pick out whatever it was she was going to wear for tonight and for today after she showered. As Emma washed her hair and her body in the shower, she thought about Regina the whole time. "What is this? Does Regina have some sort of spell on me or something? Why can't I get her out of my head for just a little while?" Emma thought to herself.

As Emma got done showering, she quickly dried off with the towel and wrapped her towel around herself to cover her body as she walked back into her bedroom to find clothes to wear. She looked in her closet and looked at everything she had. She mostly had pants and tank tops just hanging on hangers. She didn't have many dresses though she did have a few. She looked at each dress she had and debated on which one to wear. After some thinking, Emma chose a black dress. The dress came up to her thighs, just above her knees, and it was tight. Emma went into her drawer and grabbed black panties to match the dress, and then she quickly changed into the clothes. Once she was dressed, she put the towel from the shower into the dirty clothes basket and went back to the bathroom to put on her makeup. Emma wanted to look pretty for Regina and for her first meeting with her son. Emma put on black eyeliner and white eye shadow with red lipstick. She figured she looked good with just this makeup. She didn’t need any blush or any other kind of makeup on her face. She hardly ever wore makeup on her face anyway. 

After her makeup was finished and looked good, Emma knew she had to fix her hair next. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her hair yet. It was still wet from the shower. Should she let it dry and be curly golden locks of waviness, or should she put it in a ponytail like she usually would do? She didn't know. Though, she knew she had to think of something. After about 2 minutes of looking at her reflection in the mirror, Emma thought she should just put her hair up in a ponytail. She figured that if she was going to be on any kind of rides, she didn’t want her hair blowing all out of proportion. So, Emma put her hair in a nice messy good looking ponytail and then went back into her bedroom. She got her hearing aids from the charger and put them in her ears.

Emma now looked at the time, and the time read 12:00pm. "Wow, it took me like 2 hours to get ready? My gosh. That time went by fast!” Emma thought to herself. Emma wondered if she should text Regina now, though she also needed to eat something. She already did all her homework for school yesterday, so Emma had nothing to do but just wait for the time Regina was supposed to pick her up. Emma figured she’d heat up a spaghetti can in the microwave for now. She seemed to do that a lot. She hardly ever cooked, and when she did, it was only when Ruby came over and ate dinner with her as best friends. Although that wasn't very often. Ruby had work, and Emma had school, but they always texted each other almost every day. Emma knew Ruby was the best friend she’s ever had.

After Emma heated up her spaghetti can and started eating, she decided to go really fast to her bedroom and grab her phone from the charger to make sure Regina didn’t text her already. She left her food on the mini table by the couch as she went to fetch her phone. Once she got her phone, she went back to the couch and turned the TV on and started eating a few more bites of her food before looking at her phone. Once Emma looked at her phone, she noticed Regina and Ruby had texted her. Ruby asked about how her time with Miss Mills went, since she had to cancel their lunch plans a few days ago so Emma could go with Regina and her deaf cousin Kathryn to lunch instead. Emma decided to text Ruby back and told her everything. Emma told Ruby about her lunch with Regina and her cousin that day, how it went, and how Regina invited her to go to the fair with her and her son tonight. Emma knew she could trust Ruby with anything.It was okay to tell all this to Ruby, although Emma didn't trust anyone else with this information. Just Ruby. Once Emma finished telling Ruby everything, she then went on and read Regina’s text.

"Good morning or maybe afternoon, Emma, I hope you slept well last night knowing how early you went to bed. I told my son all about you, and he's so intrigued that he is looking up some sign language signs on the web just to be able to talk to you a little bit in your own language. He's a very motivated kid."

Emma made a small laugh with that text and then smiled. She was so pleased that Regina’s son was this happy to meet her. She thought she’d really like her son. 

Emma took a few more bites of her food and then texted Regina back.

“Good afternoon to you too, Regina. I woke up at 10 am and took a shower and got myself ready for tonight. Now I'm eating my lunch. I am happy that your son is this happy to meet me, although not every sign on the web is always accurate. Some signs change over time, and so some signs on the web are very old. Although, I am pretty sure I will understand him just fine with whatever he is trying to learn.”

After Emma texted Regina back, she quickly finished up her food before her food became cold. She was pretty fast at eating spaghetti cans, so it didn't take her long to finish up her food. Once she was done eating, she put her bowl in the sink to soak. She had a few dishes she needed to get done, though; she defiantly wasn't doing them now. She figured she'd do them tomorrow after school. Today was Sunday; she had her two days to sleep in before she had to get up early for school again. Though, today was going to be one of the best Sundays of her life. Spending time with Regina and her son was way better than staying at home and doing nothing. Once Emma sat down on her couch watching TV, her phone buzzed, and she saw Regina texted her back. She quickly opened her phone to read the message.

“Oh, I see. You got ready early. You seem just as excited as my son for tonight. I’m glad. You won’t make us late!”

Emma knew she got ready for tonight early, but she didn't care one bit. She only cared about being ready and on time when Regina picked her up. Emma knew she didn't want to keep Regina nor her son waiting once they arrived to pick her up tonight. So, after Emma waited a few minutes to think of a good reply, she then began texting Regina back.

"Yes, I got ready pretty early. I didn't want to keep you or your son waiting for me once you got here. I figured, why not get ready now? It's not like I'm doing a lot anyway. I already got all my homework done for school. Now, I’m just waiting for the appointed time to arrive. I might try writing a children's book for that job opening I have waiting for me after college this year, so I have something to get published. Either that or I might just write in general. I don't know what, just anything. Something to pass the time for when it's time for you and your son to be here.”

After Emma texted Regina back, she got up from her couch and went to her room and grabbed her laptop. That’s where she writes everything down. She figured she could do something to pass the time. She still had a few hours to go before Regina would be picking her up. As soon as Emma sat back down on her couch with her laptop in hand, her phone buzzed on the mini table where she left it. Emma immediately read it.

"That sounds like a good way to pass the time, Emma. Maybe one day, I can see what you write?"

Emma mainly writes what she's feeling or how her life is going, so everything was more on a personal level for her. She knew maybe one day she might just let Regina read what she wrote. Though, she didn't know when that was ever going to be. Once Emma thought about it for a few minutes, she then texted Regina back.

"Most of everything I write is about my life and how I feel, so it's more personal for me. Though, maybe one day, I will let you read my stuff. It's a lot of poetry. I love writing poetry. It's part of the main reason why I'm in college and signed up for your class. I am getting a degree in the art of writing, and doing so; I needed to take your class. Someone told me that if I truly wanted to become a good writer yours was the best class to take. I was however warned that you are very strict as a teacher, but the best no less. Now, I'm glad I did follow that advice and take the class.”

After Emma texted Regina back, she opened up the laptop that was sitting on her lap and went into the Word document. She brought up a blank document and thought about what to write. As Emma thought about what she wanted to write about, her phone buzzed. Emma quickly read it.

“Oh, I see. I understand. I am certainly glad you took my class as well, Emma. I think you are an outstanding student, and I have also grown quite fond of you. Though, I will let you get to writing if that is what you feel like doing. I don’t want to be a bother to you. Just text me when you're done?"

Emma immediately smiled widely at that text. Regina is fond of her. Emma could only think that meant one thing, and that thing was good. Emma figured that it meant Regina liked her in the same way Emma felt for her. Emma knew she couldn’t be wrong because if she was, she would feel like she’s dying inside. She definitely doesn’t want to lose Regina in any way. She couldn’t handle that. She’s already too attached to Regina. Once Emma thought of what to say back, she began texting Regina.

“You’re fond of me? That just made me smile so very wide. I am also very fond of you. I cannot wait for tonight. I will text you back as soon as I am done writing. I could sit here and text you all day until tonight, but then I'd feel like I'm waiting a lifetime for tonight to be here if you know what I mean.”

Once Emma finished texting Regina back, she then put her phone down on her mini table next to the couch and focused on the blank Word document on the laptop. Emma knew exactly how she was feeling, so Emma just started writing and writing. The words just flowed out of her. By the time she was finally done writing, she read it thoroughly to make sure it had made sense.

_This baby girl was just like us_

_until that day that she went deaf._

_She never did make a big fuss, just took a deep breath._

_People didn’t know how to react,_ _all because she couldn’t hear._

_But, deep down, she had nothing to fear._

_She was sent from Heaven above._

_She flies high as a dove._

_She can do anything she puts her mind to._

_She's just like you and me._

_She speaks through her hands!_

_She always knows where to stand._

_She can easily see your pain._

_She won’t leave you out in the rain._

_Her hands are her voice._

_This is all from God’s choice._

_She’s perfect the way she is._

_She’s just so bliss._

_She's just like you and me._

After Emma read her poem to herself, she thought it was good. She wrote about herself. She hasn't written about herself for a long time. So, Emma felt pretty proud of herself for writing about herself for the first time in a long time. Once she saved her poem on her Word document on her computer, she turned her laptop off and put it back in her bedroom, where she kept it and then went back to sit on the couch with the TV on. Emma figured she'd better look at the time and text Regina since she told Regina she'd text her as soon as she was done writing. Emma grabbed her phone from the mini-fridge and looked at the time. The time read 5:30 pm. Emma was amazed at how long it took her to write that poem about herself. She never fully understood why she was such a slow writer, but at least she knew she wasn't a bad one.

Emma had 30 minutes before Regina and her son came to pick her up. Emma was already ready, though she hoped Regina liked how she looked. She wondered what Regina was going to be wearing tonight. After a few minutes of thinking about Regina and what she may be wearing, Emma decided to text Regina.

“I am done writing. I wrote about myself. Maybe this one, I will show you one day. I'm not sure. Although, let me know when you're on your way to my place. I am still very anxious to meet your son.”

After Emma texted Regina, she then begins watching some more TV. Emma felt hungry again, though she wasn't going to eat right now. She wanted to buy something to eat at the fair for herself, Regina and her son. She didn't know what, but she was determined to buy them some kind of food. As Emma waited and watched TV, her phone buzzed. Emma quickly read the message.

“I am on my way to your place now. I am glad you got done writing just in time for me to pick you up. I am also glad you wrote about yourself. My next assignment for tomorrow will be to write about yourself in my class. Maybe you can use the poem you just wrote? If not, then write a new one? Either way, that’s going to be my class assignment for tomorrow. I figured I’d tell you since you wrote a poem about yourself.”

Emma read that text and had an "oh" look on her face with her jaw wide open for a few seconds before gathering up her thoughts. Emma didn't know what to think. She wasn't sure if she wanted to use that poem. She just inadvertently wrote for Regina's assignment, although, she might just write something else entirely. She will figure out what she wants to do by tomorrow in class: to write a new poem about herself or use the one she just wrote. For right now, Emma only cared about texting Regina back and waiting anxiously for Regina to show up at her door with her son. As Emma tried to stop being as anxious as she was, she texted Regina back.

"Oh, wow, really? I might use the poem I just wrote, or I might just make a new one. I will decide tomorrow. I'll bring my laptop to school with me tomorrow in case I decide to use the poem. Though, I might just make a whole new one and make it almost the same but yet different. I already kinda have an idea of another poem I can write about myself. I might just write a new one. But anyway, let me know when you're here. I am all ready. Oh, and I forgot to mention one little detail last night. I am in apartment number 13.”

As Emma waited for Regina to show up at her apartment with Henry, she became more and more anxious. She wanted so badly, so see Regina. Texting her was great, but seeing her face to face was a lot more pleasing. Lost in thought, thinking of Regina, Emma about jumped and almost fell off the couch when her phone buzzed with a text message again. Emma then took a deep breath and then looked at the text.

“Thank you for informing me, Emma. I will be there soon.”

Emma quickly texted back.

“See you soon!”

Emma again went right back to watching TV, waiting for Regina and Henry to show up. She felt so happy. She just couldn't help it. Regina made her feel happy, and she hasn't felt happy in such a long time. She used to feel emptier in life. She was wondering why she was here. That's why Emma began writing, and her writing became her best friend. That's what lead Emma to college. As Emma thought about it, her love for writing was what brought her and Regina into each other's lives. Emma couldn't help but keep believing that things happen for a reason. After about 30 minutes had passed, Emma figured she'd text Regina and ask her where she was at, but right as she was just about to text Regina, flashing lights went off all around her apartment. Someone was at her door.


	8. Chapter 8

Emma got up from the couch and grabbed her phone from the mini table and started walking to the door of her apartment. Before opening the door, Emma looked at her phone to see if Regina texted her, telling her she was here. She didn’t. That made Emma more curious. If it wasn’t Regina and her son at the door, then who? Emma shook her head to get rid of those thoughts immediately because the only person who was supposed to be coming by was Regina and her son. So, Emma slowly opened the door to her apartment, and there she saw a little boy with dark hair standing right next to Regina.

Emma smiled and felt relieved that it was, in fact, Regina and her son at the door and not someone else who just randomly decided to drop by. Regina was wearing a gray button-down shirt that looked like a blouse and black pantsuit pants with black shoes. Emma thought Regina looked beautiful no matter what she wore. After staring at Regina for a few seconds and smiling like an idiot in love, Emma turned to look at Regina’s son smiling.

"Hey, there, little one. What's your name?” asked Emma verbally to the kid.

Emma already knew his name because Regina had told her. Although, she figured she’d let the kid tell her as well but, to Emma’s surprise, the little boy started signing to Emma. The little boy pointed to himself and then made an “H” handshape on both hands and tapped them together twice near his chest area. Then, the little boy started fingerspelling his name to Emma, and Emma quickly understood what the boy was signing.

“ME NAME HENRY”

Emma smiled widely at this because she was so amazed at how fast the little boy had learned this. Most people take at least a few days to remember how to say their name in sign language, although it only took him one day to learn it. Emma then started talking and signing at the same time so Henry and Regina could both understand and see the signs she was making.

“My name is Emma. It’s nice to meet you.”

Emma could see Regina smile and just light up when Emma started speaking and signing at the same time to Henry. Henry seemed utterly happy about it, too, and Emma could tell by his facial expressions that he wanted to know and learn more signs. Emma was delighted by this. Emma then looked at Regina, who was still smiling at her and asked if they were ready to go. Regina nodded yes since she knew Emma couldn’t hear her. Emma then grabbed her purse from the coat rack by the door and walked out the door. After Emma locked up her apartment door, she followed Regina and Henry out to the parking lot to her black Mercedes. Henry got in the back seat and buckled up as Emma got in the passenger seat.

As Regina started driving to the fair, all Emma could do the whole way was smile. She kept looking at Regina from time to time when she thought Regina wasn't looking and was more focused on the road, althoughHenry definitely noticed Emma looking at his mom. He didn't seem to care.

As they arrived to the fair about an hour later, Henry was excited and wanted just to go inside. Regina had said something to him that Emma noticed but couldn't understand what was said, so Emma just brushed it off. Emma thought that it was just Regina telling Henry not to get out of the car yet as she searched for something in her purse. To Emma's surprise, Regina pulled out her wallet from her bag, and Emma hoped that Regina wasn't planning on buying her fair ticket. Emma had money to buy her own ticket. She was happy that she could be here with Regina tonight and keep her and her son company.

As Regina slowly got out of the car, Emma and Henry followed. All three of them slowly walked up to the ticket booth to get their tickets or wrist band. Emma noticed Henry said something to Regina again that she couldn't understand, but it didn't bother her. Although now Regina got her phone out of her pocket and started typing away, and after a few minutes, Emma's phone buzzed with a text message. Emma looked at Regina, who was now looking at her, smiling in line and then smiled back. Emma then got her phone out of her pocket and read the text.

"Henry just asked me if I am buying him tickets or a wrist band. The wrist bands granted unlimited access to all rides and attractions, while tickets had limits. If I buy him the wrist band as well as you, would you take him on rides that he may not want to go on alone? I don't ride any rides, but I will ride a few, so I'm only getting myself 20 tickets. That'll be enough for me.”

After reading the text, Emma then looked up to Regina with an "oh" look for a few seconds, and then she smiled.

“I would love to go with Henry on whatever rides he wants to go on. Though, you don’t need to pay for me. I have my own money with me so I can pay for myself.”

Emma then noticed Regina's face become serious before Regina started typing away on her phone again. Once she finished, Emma's phone buzzed with another text message. Emma then quickly read it.

"I don't care if you have money with you, Emma. I invited you to come along with us, so I'm paying for your admission. Do I make myself clear?

Emma then looked at Regina and decided that she didn't need to start an argument with her. Emma agreed to let Regina pay her way into the fair as long as Regina allowed Emma to pay for her and Henry's food. Emma explained to Regina that she hadn't eaten yet because she wanted to eat something here with them, and even though Regina didn't seem too pleased with Emma paying for anything, she agreed. 

After Regina bought Henry and Emma's wrist bands and her tickets for the rides, they all started walking along the pathway to see what kind of rides Henry may want to ride. Henry didn't care for the kiddy rides. He liked all the other rides more. Like the go-karts, the pirate ship ride, the swing set ride that went around in circles, and a few others. Emma liked them all as well. After going on a few rides with Henry, Emma felt the need to eat before she got sick, especially since she was on an empty stomach. So, Emma then asked Henry what he may want to eat. Henry smiled and laughed and pointed to the hotdog stand.

“You want hotdogs?” asked Emma.

Henry shook his head, yes. Emma then turned to Regina and asked her if she was okay, eating one or two hotdogs. Emma noticed Regina texting on her phone, and after waiting a minute, Emma's phone buzzed. Emma then took her phone out of the pocket that her dress had and read the text.

"I am not much of a hotdog eater, but Henry loves them and can't get enough of them. He will probably order two. Although, they're selling hamburgers too and they're more up my alley. I would like a hamburger with ketchup if you don't mind."

After Emma read the text, she looked up at Regina with a smile and put her phone back in her pocket.

"Yes, you can have a hamburger. I will order me and Henry two hotdogs with ketchup and a hamburger for you. Let's get in line. I will order them, so please do not speak for me when we get up to the end of the line to put our order in. I want to show you what a hard of hearing or deaf person has to do when no one hearing is around to help them." said Emma.

Regina nodded in agreement and told Henry not to say anything as well. As they waited in the line, Emma waited for them to have only one person ahead of them, ordering their food before Emma got her cell phone out and typed something on the screen. Once Emma had finished typing on her phone, it was now their time to order their food. Emma walked up to the person behind the stand and showed them her message on her phone. After the man read the message, he nodded, smiled, and put up all ten fingers to tell Emma how much it was going to cost. Emma understood correctly and handed the guy 10 dollars. Once Emma paid for their food, she put her phone back in her pocket and waited for the guy behind the stand to give them each their food. After getting their order, Emma led the way for Regina and Henry to follow her to a nearby table to sit and eat, which was what they did.

They all ate their food and shared smiles back and forth to each other in silence. Once they finished eating, Henry wanted to go on more rides. Emma knew she couldn't ride any rides for at least 30 minutes to give her stomach time to settle after eating, so she wouldn't puke after a ride, although Henry didn't seem to care about it. Henry still wanted to ride more rides right away and not have to wait, and so he did. Regina and Emma let Henry ride a few rides by himself as they walked with him and watched him go on every ride he chose to go on. Some rides, he went on more than once. Emma couldn't believe how many times that kid could go on a single ride without getting sick, although it made Emma laugh when Henry went on rides and waved at her and Regina from the ride. Emma always waved back, smiling and laughing. 

After Henry went on the swing set ride that went around in circles, he wanted to go on it a second time, and so he got right back in the line to ride it again. Emma and Regina just stood and watched him. As Henry was still in the line to get back on the ride, Emma looked to Regina and smiled.

"Thank you for inviting me to come with you here tonight, Regina. I am enjoying myself", said Emma.

Regina smiled back at Emma and then got out her phone from her pants pocket and started typing a message. This one seemed a little bit longer, for it took her quite some time to type in the message. Emma wasn’t sure as to why it took longer, but she didn’t think about it too much. She was mainly admiring the way Regina looked when she was texting. How the lighting from the Ferris Wheel accentuated Regina’s features and made her look gorgeous against the starry black sky of the night. If Emma could have done so, she would have captured that beautiful image with her phone camera. Which of course she didn’t do, not only because she didn’t want to come across as a creep, but she also didn’t want to distract Regina and break the spell. Emma loved how Regina seemed so focused on what she was doing. She just looked so damn beautiful. Emma couldn’t help but stare at Regina every chance she could get when Henry wasn’t looking.  After a few minutes, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text. Emma took her phone out from her pocket and quickly read the text.

"I am glad you are here tonight as well. Henry seemed to be enjoying himself, and he seems to like you very much.Aside from that, is that always how you order your food when you're out at a restaurant or a fast food place? I ordered your food when we had lunch with my deaf cousin, so seeing you order food with your phone is something I’ve never experienced before. Also, I was curious to ask. Is there any way to ever get your attention whenever you're not looking at me or reading a text from me on your phone? There were a few times tonight when we first arrived here, and you went on a few rides with Henry that I wanted to get your attention and tell you to have fun. Then, I remembered I'm not sure how to get the attention of a deaf or hard of hearing person from afar. I also realized I didn’t know how to sign "have fun." So, I decided to leave it be and just watch as you rode the rides with Henry.”

Emma looked up from her phone and smiled at Regina for a moment before speaking verbally.

“Yes, that is how I order food for myself whenever I’m at a restaurant or a fast food place, only because even though I can speak normally, I can’t hear. Some people may tend not to understand that I cannot hear them because I speak so well. Sometimes they just are completely clueless as to what to do after I tell them that I am practically deaf and can't hear them, so writing it down on my phone is a great way to make sure my order is correct. Specially in fast food places, where everyone behind the counter is trying to get the order out fast and ask questions while punching the order and extras into the cash register. I have to get their full attention and let them know that I can’t hear. Otherwise I might end up with something yucky on my tray.” Regina smiled and nodded in understanding.

“As for getting my attention, that's easy. If I am not looking at you or I’m afar from you not paying any attention to you, stomp on the ground. Sometimes stomp more than once. It'll get my attention. I can hear the stomps’ vibrations through the ground.” Emma said this while air quoting the word hear, because feeling the vibrations on the ground was how she notice someone wanted her attention. She was very perceptive and could actually tell from which direction the vibration was coming from.

“Then I will immediately look up at whoever stomped. It's one of the easiest ways to get a deaf person's attention. Sometimes, you can just wave your hand in the air trying to get my attention, but that doesn't always work. Specially in a crowded place like this, where there are too many things going on around us and happening at the same time. The stomping works all the time."

Emma saw that Regina’s face was one of curiosity. As if she wanted to know more about the deaf and maybe even try to learn sign language. Emma figured she could teach her a few signs little by little while they spent more and more time together. If Regina was interested in learning sign in any case. Though, for now, Emma decided to teach Regina how to sign “enjoy” and “fun”, so she could sign both of them to her whenever she wanted to tell her to have fun on a ride with Henry. As for the next time Regina decided to get Emma’s attention, she already knew the drill.. 

The “enjoy” was one flat palm on your chest while placing the other palm flat on the stomach and you move each hand around in circles. That sign was easy for Regina to remember. The "fun" sign was the "H" handshape on both hands. The left hand near your stomach area facing down. The right hand on your nose. Then you bring the right hand down to the left hand and lay the right hand on top of the left hand. That was also easy for Regina to remember.

As Emma and Regina talked some more back and forth, Emma could see that Regina enjoyed every minute. Emma felt that it was a perfect sign, that maybe one day they will be able to go out on a date, just the two of them. Perhaps they could go out to some restaurant or something like that. Anything. Emma didn't care where. She just wanted to be alone with Regina on a date one day. 

While Emma and Regina were lost in their little conversation, Henry came running up to Regina saying something that Emma couldn't understand. Emma could see the look on Regina’s face go from smiling and happy,to concerned. Emma saw Regina put her hand up to Henry's forehead and say something to him, that again,she didn't understand. However, Emma started to pick up on Henry's body language and facial expressions and automatically knew what was going on.

“He’s not feeling good all the sudden, is he?” asked Emma to Regina.

Regina then looked at Emma for a few seconds and then started typing away on her phone. After a few minutes, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text message. Emma read it quickly.

“Henry made himself sick from going on the swing set ride for the second time. I guess the spinning around in circles got to him. He said he wants to go home, so it looks like we should get going so I can take him back home and get him in bed. I hope you don't see this as a bad night for leaving so early, and I hope we can maybe do this again sometime soon. I know Henry will be glad to see you again.”

After reading that, Emma looked back up to Regina and understood that it was time to go. Emma shook her head in understanding and told Regina and Henry that she had a good time tonight and that she realized why they had to call it a night, though Emma didn't see it as a bad thing. Emma saw it as a mother taking care of her child, and that's all that mattered in her eyes. So, as they all got up and slowly walked back to the car, Emma stole glances at Regina every chance she had. Once they were all in the car and buckled in, Regina started driving off.

When they got back to Emma's apartment complex, Henry was already passed out in the back seat. All those rides and the sickness from not waiting 30 minutes after he ate got to him and made him tired. Emma didn't want to go back into her apartment yet and leave Regina, but she knew she had no choice. Regina needed to get sleeping Henry home and into bed.

Emma smiled softy to Regina and whispered, "Thank you" before slowly getting out of the car. As soon as Emma was out of the car, she noticed that Regina got out of the car as well, while it was still running, so the heat could keep Henry warm.  It had now become relatively chilly outside. Emma didn’t mind this one bit. She felt it was more of a chance to say goodbye to Regina before walking up to her apartment door. Emma walked over to the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex and looked at Regina, who was walking towards her. Once Regina walked up to Emma, she took out her phone from her pants’ pocket and started typing away. After a minute, Emma's phone buzzed. Emma got out her phone from her pocket and read the text message.

"I enjoyed spending time with you like this, Emma, and I hope we can sometimes do this again. Please don't be late for my class tomorrow. Be there early so you and I can talk more privately before the classroom fills up. I need to get home and get Henry into bed. I will text you when I get home, so you know I made it home safely."

Emma smiled and nodded in agreement, but before Regina could start walking back to the car, Emma grabbed her shoulder lightly to stop her. Emma looked into Regina's eyes for a minute and slowly walked closer to her, their faces almost touching. Emma studied Regina's facial expressions and body language more for a few seconds, and all of a sudden, Emma couldn't help herself. Her actions had got the best of her, and she slowly kissed Regina on the lips. After pulling away from the kiss, she studied Regina's facial expressions again to see if she liked what just happened, and to Emma's surprise, Regina cupped Emma's face and pulled her in for another kiss. This time, the kiss was more profound and very passionate.

Emma could feel her heart pounding in her chest so fast that she wondered if Regina could feel how fast her heart was beating. Emma couldn’t breathe. All she could think about was touching Regina’s lips with hers and never letting her go. Though, after about a minute, Regina pulled away from the kiss. Regina looked at Emma and smiled broadly. Then, Regina slowly started walking to the car. Her hand was not letting go of Emma's hand until they were too far in the distance from each other. 

As Emma watched Regina getting into her car and driving away, she could feel her cheeks blush. Though, this time Emma didn't feel at all embarrassed for blushing. She felt happy. The happiest she's ever been. When Regina and Henry got so far away to where Emma could barely see them now, she finally started walking up to her apartment door. She got her keys from her purse and unlocked her door to go in. Once in, she squealed in happiness because she just kissed Regina. She. Kissed. Regina. Emma couldn't believe it. She was just so happy. After kicking off her shoes near the door and hanging her purse back on the coat rack, Emma walked into her bedroom and changed into her sleepwear.

It was now 9:30 pm, and she had to be up by 6 am tomorrow for school. Emma set her alarm to wake her up by 6 am, and then she slowly got into her bed with her phone in hand and started playing a game on it to pass the time. Emma wasn't going to sleep until Regina texted her telling her she got home safely.

About 30 minutes later, Emma's phone buzzed in her hands as she played a game, and Regina's name popped up on the top of her screen telling her who texted her. Emma immediately stopped playing the game and read the text.

"I got home safely with Henry. He is now sleeping safe and sound in his bed, and I am about to head to bed. I enjoyed my time with you tonight, Emma, and I would like to do it again sometime soon, as I have stated earlier. Also, you're an excellent kisser! I will see you tomorrow morning. Have a good night. I will text you in the morning."

Emma smiled so widely at that text. She just couldn’t believe it. After Emma gathered up her thoughts on what to say, she then texted back.

"I think you're a good kisser as well. I will see you tomorrow, and I will be waiting for your text in the morning. Good night Regina!"

Emma then put her phone on charge, still smiling like an idiot in love. She knew she'd probably be having some wet dreams about Regina that night. That was for sure, and she certainly hoped Regina would be having them as well. Although now Emma knew Regina did like her and she probably felt the same way as she felt about her, which meant good news for Emma. As Emma drifted off to sleep, she thought of undressing Regina in every possible way imaginable.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma's alarm went off at 6 AM the next morning. She woke up from one very wet dream about Regina. She definitely needed a cold shower to cool her off. It was so intense and felt so real. She only wished it was real and not just a dream. Although, since Regina and Emma had now kissed, she knew it would soon be real. She just didn't know exactly when. After Emma got up and out of bed, the young student selected her clothes and grabbed a towel from the hallway closet. Then she headed to the bathroom to take her cold shower. 

Emma kept thinking of that wet dream while showering. Kissing and loving Regina in a way she desperately needed to at this very moment. That very particular spot between her legs started aching to be touched right there and then and now the girl couldn't help it. She needed this so badly. Emma bit her lip very seductively and began to lay herself down in the shower with the water still running down. She slowly made her way down her navel and onto her clit and started gradually rubbing it in little circles. Emma closed her eyes and thought of Regina. Emma was pretending Regina was the one who was touching her clit, and as Emma became wetter and wetter, she started circling her clit faster and faster. Emma felt so pleased with her touch that she couldn't stop, especially now. Once Emma began to touch herself, nothing could make her stop. Emma rubbed her clit even harder. She kept her eyes closed while the water enveloped her and moaned loudly as she climaxed. Yelling out Regina's name, Emma came fast and hard. Emma felt so much better and so much more relaxed now that she came. Her body was less stressed now, and Emma no longer was aching to be touched between her legs. Although, she only wished Regina had made her cum instead of making herself cum.

Once Emma finally finished showering, she dried off and changed into her recently laundered clothes. Emma wore a black tank top with a black dress jacket with blue jeans and black boots. She put her makeup on and let her hair stay down in curly locks because she wanted Regina to feel the need to kiss her again, and she figured that she looked better with her hair down than up in a ponytail. After throwing the towel in the dirty laundry basket and once she was ready, Emma went back to her bedroom and grabbed her hearing aids from the charger. She then put them in her ears. Emma grabbed her phone off the charger and looked at the time. The time read 7:00 AM. Emma noticed that Regina had texted her this morning, just as she said she was going to do last night before she went to sleep. Emma smiled at her phone as she read the text message.

“Good morning Emma. I hope you slept well. I can’t wait to see you before class today. I will be in my classroom by 7:00 AM so please be there by 7:30 AM at the latest. I really would like to see you before everyone starts coming in for class. See you soon!"

Emma just kept smiling at that text and then texted back.

"Don't worry, Regina; I won't be late. I am on my way now. I just got out of the shower. I'll see you soon!”

After Emma texted Regina back, she grabbed her laptop just in case she wanted to use that poem she wrote yesterday for today’s lesson in class. She put the laptop in her backpack and then headed out the door with her keys in hand. Emma locked her apartment door and walked to her yellow bug and drove off to school. There was hardly any traffic today, so she got to school in 15 minutes. Emma felt so pleased and happy because she got an extra 15 minutes to spend with Regina before people came pouring into the classroom. Emma then hurried to park her car in the school parking lot as close to the entrance as she could. She got out of her car and practically ran to Regina's class with the backpack hanging from one shoulder. She certainly didn't wanna waste any time.Every minute was precious.

Once she got to the classroom, she opened the door and walked in. She saw Regina sitting at her desk, writing something down on a piece of paper. Regina was wearing a tight black dress that showed her cleavage and a black belt wrapped around her waist that made her look stunning. It made her look so beautiful that Emma couldn't keep her eyes off of her. As Emma walked up closer to Regina, Emma noticed that Regina looked up from what she was writing and smiled at her. Emma smiled back, and she felt her cheeks become red from blushing. For some reason, Emma couldn't help but blush when around Regina. However, she tried so hard not to. As Emma was now at Regina's desk, she put her backpack on the floor next to it and waited for Regina to say something. Regina got up, walked around her desk to Emma, and leaned closer to her, their faces almost touching. Emma's heart was pounding faster now. She was getting wet yet again. The throbbing sensation between her legs was much stronger now than earlier.Regina never had this effect on Emma before until this morning, after they kissed last night. Now all Emma could think about was making love to Regina and enjoying every touch Regina gave her.

Regina smiled at Emma lustily, and that made Emma just not be able to control herself. Emma pulled Regina in even closer and kissed her passionately, and Regina kissed back with just as much passion. They didn't break for air for a few minutes until they had no choice but to breathe. Once they finally broke the kiss, their lips swelled from the kissing, and Emma loved it every minute. Emma smiled at Regina, and Regina smiled back.Emma caressed Regina's face with her hand gently as she smiled and stared into her eyes. Regina had that beautiful sparkle in them again. She had that same sparkle when Emma had agreed to go to lunch with her and her deaf cousin Kathryn.

As Regina slowly pulled away from Emma and went back to the other side of her desk, she grabbed her phone and started texting, and after a while, Emma's phone buzzed in her pocket. Emma, still smiling at Regina, grabbed her phone and looked at the text message.

"That was one heated kiss. I had to pull away before it got a little TOO heated if you know what I mean. I can't have any student or even a teacher walk in my classroom and see us in a way they’d be scarred for life! So, let's get back to being professional while in my classroom. Okay? Can you write today’s assignment on the board? Let the class know that they need to write a poem about themselves, and encourage them to be creative. That'll make my morning a little bit easier. That way I can finish grading some of the poems I got last Thursday and didn’t finish reviewing.. I have just a few more papers to grade before I'm done."

Emma smiled and nodded her head in agreement and went on to writing what she needed to write on the board, telling everyone what their assignment was for that day and had to be turned in by the end of the class. After Emma finished, she looked at Regina, who was still grading papers. Emma put the marker down and walked back over to Regina and simply asked aloud.

"May I ask what happened with Henry's father? Also, that poem you wrote down on the board last week, you demonstrated to everyone how to write a poem about someone you love or care for, was that poem about Henry?"

Regina then looked up to Emma with a shocked face as if she was surprised Emma had asked her that. Although, she knew that she’d have to answer that question eventually, and Emma knew it. Regina then put a smile on her face and grabbed her phone and started texting her. It took Regina a little longer to text, but Emma's phone buzzed after a few minutes. Emma quickly read the text message.

“Yes, that poem on the board last week was indeed about Henry. I am surprised you figured that out. And about Henry's father, well, he doesn't entirely have one. I got pregnant with Henry from a sperm donor. I really wanted to be a mother, and since I am a lesbian, I wasn't going to get pregnant by having sex with a man. So, I raised the money needed and got myself a sperm donor. I did an extensive research and went to the best clinic I could find. After a couple of failed attempts and just when I was about to give up, a very proficient doctor came along. She was so methodical and so determined to get it right after all the previous attempts, that she used a totally new procedure that was still being tested. She said this new technique had higher successful rates, at least in the experimental phase they were in, so I agreed to try it. She was so careful and thoughtful of the whole process, that when she injected the sperm into me I somehow knew we were going to have a positive result at last. And it worked and that's how I became pregnant. Henry knows he doesn't have a father, and he understands he was conceived using the sperm of a carefully selected sperm donor. I recently told him everything not too long ago. Although, he's still a little too young to understand everything fully."

Emma's jaw dropped with an "oh" face, and then suddenly, she understood why Robin was never able to get Regina’s attention before, despite trying to do so way too many times along with a few other students. If Regina is a lesbian, no guy would ever stand a chance. Now Emma was so very grateful and proud to be a woman. Emma then smiled in understanding at Regina and then said verbally.

"Oh, I see. I understand. I am very proud of you, as well. You did an excellent job raising Henry on your own while working full time. You did it all alone, and that just makes me appreciate you more. That’s true commitment. I can tell you're a good mother just by what I saw last night at the fair, and I think you’re amazing and the most beautiful person that I have ever met!"

Emma saw Regina smile so widely at that, and it made Emma blush again. Regina then got up from her desk chair and walked closer to Emma and pulled Emma in for another passionate kiss. Emma’s stomach started getting butterflies with Regina’s touch again, because this time, she didn’t initiate the kiss. Regina did. As they finally broke for air from the kiss, Regina smiled into Emma's eyes, and Emma smiled back widely. She felt so in love, and Emma knew she had never felt this kind of love before. Emma thought she was in love with Belle previously, but this feeling Emma had for Regina was nothing compared to what she had felt for Belle. Emma loved Regina so much more, and now she was even more thankful that Belle left her for Mr. Gold. It just gave Emma the opportunity and chance to be with Regina, and she was so very grateful for that.

A group of people then walked into the classroom, and Emma and Regina quickly parted. Emma promptly looked at the students and then back at Regina and cleared her throat as if someone almost caught them hugging and smiling at each other like two idiots in love. Emma then quickly grabbed her backpack and went back to her usual seat, where the interpreter usually sat and waited for the classroom to fill up. As the class became full, Emma shared glances and smiles with Regina when she thought no one was looking, and Regina did the same.

As the class finally began, Emma debated on getting out her laptop and copying the poem she wrote about herself from yesterday. Though, then something changed her mind. She thought of a similar verse to the one she had written yesterday. It would be the same poem but with certain things added to it. As Emma thought more about it, she then smiled and began writing.

_She was waiting with her mom for the audiologist to come in._

_She’s been here thousands of times before since the age of six._

_The audiologist said nothing’s changed._

_Everything still looks the same._

_With her hearing aids in, she tries to catch the fast-moving lips._

_She doesn’t always know what’s said because reading lips is hard enough when you're deaf._

_So, that’s when she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath._

_Her hands are her voice._

_This is all from God’s choice._

_Her music is the beat of her heart._

_She won’t let anybody feel down but only bring joy all around._

_Though, underneath it all, she’s just like you and me._

_Summer's now over, and it's back to school for her._

_In this hearing school, the teacher seems to forget._

_The teacher turns around, and now she can't read her lips._

_She’s not good at reading lips anyway, but she tries to get through school and makes it out alright._

_You know, she’s very bright._

_In the line at McDonald’s, she tries to order her food._

_The guy that works there is being vulgar._

_She tries to point to what she wants, but the guy doesn't understand._

_This is not what she planned._

_She got out a pen and piece of paper and wrote what she wanted to place her order._

_When she finally got her food, she walked out, wanting to cry._

_Though, the rest of her day was just fine._

_Her hands are her voice._

_This is all from God’s choice._

_Her music is the beat of her heart._

_She won’t let anybody feel down but only bring joy all around._

_Though, underneath it all, she’s just like you and me._

After Emma finished writing, she silently read the poem back to make sure it made sense. Emma felt pleased with what she had written. Emma knew it was very similar to the poem she had written yesterday, but Emma liked the extra detail she put into it. Emma figured she'd keep this copy of her poetry if she didn't get it back from Regina. Emma took out her phone and took a picture of what she wrote. That way, Emma would always have it. Once Emma took a photo of her poem, she put her phone back in her pocket. Although, right when she put her phone back in her pocket, her phone buzzed with a text message. Emma raised her eyebrows because she knew no one would text her during class time, so who was texting her now? Emma looked at Regina from her seat, and she noticed Regina looking at her with her phone in her hand, smiling. Emma then realized that Regina was the one who must’ve texted her. Emma then took her phone out of her pocket and read the text.

“Emma, I see you with your phone out in my class. If you're going to have your phone out during my class, the least you can do is text me!"

Emma smiled and made a small laugh hoping nobody heard her and then quickly replied to the text message.

“Lol well, I will definitely remember that next time, Regina! I took a picture of my poem, so I have a copy of it in case I don't get it back from you. I hope that’s alright with you!”

Right as Emma sent that text, class ended, and then everyone slowly left the classroom after turning in their poems, leaving only Emma, Regina, and the interpreter in the room. Emma told the interpreter that she was fine on her own for now and that she no longer needed her to interpret since the class had ended, so she was free to go. With that, the interpreter smiled at Emma and slowly made her way out of the classroom, leaving just Emma and Regina. Emma got up from her seat and put her things back in her backpack and walked up to Regina. Emma gave Regina her poem assignment and then smiled at her.

As Regina smiled back and put up her hand for Emma to not leave yet, she started typing away on her phone, and a few minutes later, her phone buzzed. Emma quickly read the text message.

“Would you like to have dinner with me and my son tomorrow night ? I will come and pick you up from your place after I get off from work here at school, and I'd take you back to my place with me. What do you say?”

Emma smiled at Regina and then verbally said, "Yes, I'd love to. That'd be great. Then maybe one day, you and Henry could come to my apartment and have dinner with me? I know my apartment isn't big, but it's doable!"

Emma noticed Regina laugh at that remark. Emma felt pleased that she could make Regina laugh. After Regina smiled at Emma again for a few seconds, Regina started texting on her phone, and after a few seconds, Emma's phone buzzed. Emma then read the text.

“Sure, why not? I’m pretty sure Henry wouldn’t mind it. I can tell he already likes you!”

Emma gave a short laugh with that remark and then told Regina she should probably get going. Although Emma didn't want to leave Regina, she knew she had no choice at that moment. Regina understood and let Emma leave, although they wouldn’t stop texting each other all day after Emma got home. Later that night, Emma decided to pleasure herself in bed again to get her frustrations out. She felt like she had no choice. Thinking of Regina made her feel very sexually frustrated and pleasuring herself was her only relief. As Emma fell asleep that night, she yet again had wet dreams with Regina.


	10. Chapter 10

Emma woke up the next morning again at her usual 6 AM time for school. She got up out of bed and grabbed her clothes and a towel. Then she jumped into the shower. Emma was very excited today. She was supposed to go over to Regina's house this evening to have dinner with her and her son. This date was the very first time Emma would get to see Regina's house. She couldn't wait to see Regina's home. Emma could tell by the way Regina's Mercedes looked that the professor must've been upper-middle class. She definitely had money, but Emma wasn’t going to be discouraged or intimidated by it; she simply didn’t care about that. Emma only cared about how she felt towards Regina, and Emma was definitely already madly in love with her. It's only been a week, going on the second week and so far, all this has happened. Emma couldn't believe how fast things were moving for her and Regina. Emma never once thought that this would ever happen, but she was so glad that it did. 

As Emma got out of the shower, she dried off and put her clothes on. Today she wore black leggings with a red dress. It didn’t show any cleavage. It was more of an interview kind of dress, although Emma seemed to like how the dress accentuated her curves and hips. It was tight, and you could see her body figure in it. Emma slid on a pair of black boots and then proceeded to put her hair up in a ponytail. She did her makeup lastly. Emma wore a green eyeshadow with black eyeliner and red lipstick to match her dress. She figured that this was the perfect dress to wear for Regina later tonight as well. Emma just wasn't the kind of person to change during the day unless she had spilled something on herself. So, once she was dressed for the day, then she was dressed for the day and the evening if need be, and she wasn't changing. 

Once Emma was ready, she walked back to her bedroom, grabbed her hearing aids from the charger, and put them in her ears. She then went to grab her backpack. Emma noticed her laptop was still in her bag from yesterday. She forgot to take it out after school yesterday. So, Emma took her laptop out of her backpack and put it back on her dresser, where Emma usually kept it. Once Emma zipped up her bag after taking out the computer, she put it around her back and headed out the door. 

As Emma walked out of her apartment and shut and locked her apartment door, she then realized she forgot her phone. Emma quickly unlocked her apartment door and sprinted back into her home and into her bedroom to grab her phone off the charger. She then looked at the time. The time said 7 AM. It was still relatively early to drive to school, though Emma didn't care. Maybe she could drop by Regina's classroom to see her this morning? She'd just text her to make sure it was okay. 

Once Emma sprinted back out of her apartment, locking the door behind her, she walked to her yellow bug and got in. Emma took out her phone to see if Regina texted. To her surprise, she didn't. So, Emma decided to send the first text for today.

"Hey there, Regina, how are you this morning? I am heading to school now. I have math and science today. Is there any way I could maybe stop by to see you this morning in your classroom?”

After Emma sent that text, she started driving off to school. She was excited about tonight. She just couldn't wait to have dinner with Regina and Henry tonight. Once Emma had gotten halfway to the school campus, her phone buzzed. Emma doesn't text while driving, so she didn't look at her phone to read the text message. It wasn’t until Emma got to school and parked that she looked at her phone. Regina had texted her back. Emma quickly unlocked her phone and read the text.

"Hello Emma, I am doing good this morning. I cannot wait for tonight. I already told Henry about you coming to join us for dinner tonight, and he is very excited. He's even looked up more sign language signs for you so he can sign with you. He annoyed me last night all the while before putting him to bed about wanting to learn more sings than the two you have already taught me. He showed me how to sign my name. I will show you once you come to my classroom this morning. So, for that being said, the answer to your question is yes, although I don’t teach class today, I do like doing paperwork from the board as well as grading papers in my classroom, so consider yourself lucky.”

Emma smiled when she read that. She already felt as if she was somehow essential to Regina. Emma could just tell and was happy about it. Once Emma gathered up her thoughts on what she wanted to say, she then texted Regina back.

“I already consider myself lucky, Regina. I am lucky to have you, and I can’t wait for tonight as well! I am very excited. I just got to the school, and it's now 7:15 AM. That means we have 30 minutes to spend time together. I am on my way to your classroom now. See you soon.”

Emma then got out of her yellow bug and sprinted off to Regina's classroom. As soon as she got there, she walked in. Emma noticed Regina was wearing a beautiful blue dress with black high heel shoes. Regina's ensemble looked more like an interview dress like hers. It didn't show any cleavage either. Although, Emma wished it did,but either way, Regina looked terrific. As Emma walked closer to Regina, who was sitting at her desk grading papers from what it looked like to Emma. Regina noticed Emma and looked up with a smile. Emma smiled back widely.

"Hey there, Regina. You look beautiful!” said Emma verbally.

Emma noticed Regina's smile began to get more substantial than what it already was. Regina stood up from her desk and walked closer to Emma. The young student was practically sitting on the side of her desk next to her. Regina pulled Emma in, closer to her, and kissed her passionately on the lips. Ever since Emma made the first move on Regina a few nights ago, it seemed like Regina liked kissing Emma, and Emma didn't mind this one bit. She loved every minute of it. Emma put her right hand on the back of Regina’s head to deepen the kiss, making it more passionate than it already was. Emma could tell that this made Regina aroused. Emma then started feeling Regina's right-hand slide slowly up her left thigh and into Emma's dress, stopping right between her legs. 

Emma then let out a loud moan. The touch of Regina's hands on her made her feel aroused too, and she began to feel wet in her panties. Regina’s hand was slowly rubbing softly on Emma’s pussy as they kissed. Emma knew what was happening, but she definitely didn't want this to stop. She knew this was risky, yet she tried to keep going. All of a sudden Emma realized that the same thought must have crossed Regina’s mind. Emma felt Regina quickly pull her hand away from her pussy and slowly slide her hand down her leggings, backing away from her all hesitant while looking at her classroom door. Emma then looked to the door as well. Nobody was there. Emma then started to look confused.

“What’s wrong? Did you hear something?" asked Emma verbally.

Regina then grabbed her phone from her desk and started texting away. It took Regina a little longer to type up this message. After a few minutes, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text. Emma quickly read it.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I heard someone slightly bang on my classroom door, and when I freaked out and pulled away, I looked to the door. I thought I saw Robin from the classroom door window peaking into the classroom and staring at us. It freaked me out a little. I have been having issues with Robin for the last two years since he’s failed my class and had to retake it. I sometimes see him staring at me through my classroom door just like I did now, and once I look away to get my phone to call someone to warn them about Robin lurking around my classroom, he's gone, and then I think it must've been just in my head. I'm not sure if he was there or not, but I swear I saw him from the corner of my eye.”

After Emma read that text, she then quickly looked back to the door but saw nobody there. She then walked to the door and opened it. Emma peeked her head out to see if anyone was there, although there was no sign of anyone. Emma then closed the door and walked back to Regina at her desk, standing and looking a little freaked out by what had just happened. Emma then cupped Regina’s face and looked straight into her eyes.

“Nobody is out there. Not now at least, although I do believe you. If you say you saw Robin, I believe you. Though, now I'm a little worried. Do you think he's stalking you? I think you need to report the problem with someone. I think this may be something serious. Promise me you will tell someone!” said Emma verbally.

Regina nodded, with worried written all over her face. Emma could tell by Regina's body language that she wasn't even concerned about being caught kissing her, but was more concerned about Robin in general. Emma instinctively knew that Robin could be a problem for them. Emma figured that if Regina doesn’t tell anyone about this that she could be in grave danger. Emma started thinking about how Robin told her on the first day of class how he tried several times to get with Regina with no luck. What if he was stalking her? Emma didn't like this one bit. She was now scared and worried for Regina's safety.

Emma hugged Regina and calmed her down from being frightened and getting all jittery. After a few minutes, Regina seemed to calm down. Emma seemed to be calming Regina down just by hugging her, and Emma knew that this was a good thing. Emma knew it meant that Regina felt comfort in Emma. Regina felt safe with Emma, and that was all that mattered to Emma. Emma didn't try kissing Regina again after that. Instead, she just stood there, hugging her the whole time until she had to leave. Emma had never once hugged someone for such a long period like this before, in silence, just being there;fully present. But it seemed to come easy to her with Regina. Emma didn't focus on her being aroused anymore after what happened, and Emma could tell that Regina was no longer aroused either. They just stood there holding each other until Emma had to go to her math class.

When the time came for Emma to leave to go to her math class, Emma told Regina to lock the classroom door behind her, so no one was able to get in. She wanted to make sure Regina was safe. Especially now, since Emma just found this out about Robin. Before Emma officially left, she brushed Regina's cheek with her hand and slowly moved to go to her math class. Emma didn't want to leave, but she knew she had no choice. Although, Emma knew that she’d see Regina again in a few hours, and Regina reassured her that she'd be at her apartment to pick her up by 4:00 pm.

During math class, Emma could only think about Regina. She couldn’t get Regina out of her mind. Emma couldn't even follow what went on throughout the whole class. She was too distracted. She only thought about Regina and her safety over and over and wondered how to protect her. Emma knew she couldn't stray away too much from what was going on in class, or she'd fail, and she wasn't going to fail this class. So Emma shook her head and started focusing on what was going on.

Once class was over, Emma had to head straight to her science class. Emma liked science more than she loved math, so she paid more attention to that class although Regina was still very much on her mind. When science class finally finished up, Emma went home in her yellow bug, and right as she got back, she texted Regina. It was now 3:00 PM.

“Hey Regina, are you doing okay after what happened this morning? I know you said you’d be at my house in an hour. I just got home, so now that I'm home, I want to make sure you're doing alright. I can tell you were pretty shaken up this morning."

After Emma sent that text to Regina, Emma put her backpack in her bedroom and then went back into her living room, turned on the TV, and waited for Regina to text back. After about 10 minutes had passed, Emma's phone buzzed with a text. Emma quickly read it.

“I am doing better. I have been thinking about it all day. I will go to the board tomorrow and tell the people who're on the board with me about Robin and what I've been experiencing. For now, I only want to have a good time with you. I am almost done here with grading papers. I've got just a couple of papers to grade, and then I'll be heading over to your place to pick you up. I’ll text you when I am on my way.”

Emma then texted Regina back, telling her that she understands and is proud of her for going to the board about Robin tomorrow morning. So, for the time being, Emma watched TV until it was time for Regina to pick her up. Emma felt very bored, just waiting. She was still excited to be with Regina tonight. Emma also couldn’t wait to see Henry again as well. As Emma waited and watched TV, she felt that the time was going by so painfully slow. After about 30 minutes had passed, Emma's phone buzzed with a text message, and Emma quickly read it.

“I am on my way now, Emma. Be there soon!”

Emma then smiled and texted Regina back.

“Okay. See you soon, Regina!”

Emma was now excited. It doesn't take very long to get to her apartment from the school. If there is no traffic, it'll take only 15 minutes as it did for Emma this morning to get back to her apartment. Emma then became more and more anxious. As time went by, she grew a little more impatient. It was getting to Emma. Emma had never felt this impatient with anyone that she was with before. Not even Belle. Although with Regina, she can't seem to help but be anxious. Emma also worried about Regina at the same time, which is why she was so impatient today. She hoped that Robin wasn't following her, and if he was, she hoped that Regina would soon catch on and maybe get a restraining order against him. But for now, all Emma could do is wait. As 15 minutes had now finally gone by, Emma hoped that Regina would be here soon, but she wasn't. Emma hoped that Regina was okay. She now began getting a little worried about her safety.

After another 15 minutes had come and gone, flashing lights went off all around Emma's apartment, which meant one thing. Someone rang the doorbell, and Emma knew that it must be Regina. Emma quickly got up off the couch and hurried to open the door. As she opened the door, Regina was standing there, smiling at Emma. Emma smiled back. To Emma’s surprise, Regina slowly but surely started signing. Regina pointed to Emma and then made an “R” handshape on both hands, put them up towards her chest area, and then shook both hands. Emma recognized this sign right away as "YOU READY." Emma then made a confused look for a few seconds before gathering her thoughts.

“You learned how to sign to ask me if I am ready to go? How did you learn that? From Henry? This makes me wonder what else he’s learned!”

Emma then noticed Regina got her phone out of her pocket and started typing away. As Regina typed away on her phone, Emma stared at Regina, admiring her beauty like she did the night at the fair. Emma still felt terrible that Regina never got to use her 20 dollars worth of tickets that night to ride any rides with her or Henry because Henry had gotten sick from not waiting for that 30-minute gap after eating. Emma could tell that Regina didn't seem to care. She only cared about how her son felt, although Emma still wished that she could somehow make it up to her. After a few minutes had passed, Emma's phone buzzed with a text, and she quickly read it.

"Yes, I learned that from Henry. He's taught himself quite a lot, and I'm surprised. He seems to like sign language, and he is a fast learner. I don't see any harm in him learning, or in me learning it for you.”

Emma then looked up to Regina and smiled widely, and then Emma made an “A” handshape on her right hand and shook it in a way to where it looked like she was knocking on an invisible door. Then she pointed to herself. Then she signed "READY." Emma was still smiling as she was signing, and then she waited to see if Regina understood, and to her surprise, Regina did. Regina smiled at Emma and put out her arm for Emma to grab so she could escort her to the car. Emma quickly grabbed her purse from the coat rack and grabbed her apartment key that she had left on the mini table right by the door and slowly walked out the door. Emma quickly locked her door behind her and then wrapped her left arm around Regina’s right arm and strolled with her to her car.

As they got to Regina's car, they both unhooked their arms so that Emma could walk to the Mercedes’ passenger seat, and once they got in the car, Regina looked over to Emma and smiled again. Only this time, Regina put her left hand over Emma's right cheek and slowly pulled her in for a kiss. Emma didn't object to it and leaned in. Emma kissed Regina back very passionately, and after a few minutes, they broke for air and just stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments smiling. Regina then looked straight ahead and turned the car on and drove off.

As they got to Regina’s house, Emma’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Regina lived in a big white house that looked kind of like a little mini-mansion to Emma. As they parked in the driveway, Emma looked at Regina before getting out of the car.

“You live here? This place is huge and beautiful!” said Emma verbally.

Regina laughed and then shook her head yes while mouthing “yes” to Emma, before opening the car door and slowly getting out of the Mercedes. Emma then slowly got out of the car herself and followed Regina to her front door. As Regina opened the door, she walked inside, letting Emma follow her before closing the door. Emma noticed that the dining table was ahead of them with a hallway on the left that probably led to the kitchen. Emma then followed Regina into the next room over to her right where the living room was, and to Emma's surprise, that was where Henry was at, playing games with some redhead gal wearing a green jacket and black pants. This other woman had red curly hair just like her interpreter at school. Although this woman was not her interpreter, it was somebody else. Someone she had never met before. 

Emma then looked at Regina with a confused face, silently asking her who this other woman was. Regina could see the silent question lingering in Emma's face. Regina then got out her phone and started typing away, and after a few minutes, Emma’s phone buzzed. Emma quickly took her phone from her pocket and read the text.

“That redheaded woman sitting next to Henry is my sister Zelena. She already knows all about you. I've told her everything. She's my sister, and she knows everything there is about me. We're very close, so she knows about your hearing loss and understands that you cannot hear her very well if she tried to talk to you. I think Henry has been trying to teach her how to introduce herself to you in sign language."

After reading that text, Emma made an "oh" face in recognition of what she just read. Emma didn't know that Regina had a sister, but she was thrilled that Regina talked about her to her sister because it meant that she was outstanding. After about a minute later, Emma noticed Regina said something that she couldn't understand. Suddenly she saw that Henry looked over to her and Regina. Henry then immediately jumped up from the couch and put down the game controller and rushed to hug Regina. Zelena then did the same and then looked at Emma and started signing.

Zelena made the “H” handshape on both hands and tapped them together as Henry did a few nights prior. Zelena then started fingerspelling out her name to Emma. Emma immediately knew what Zelena had signed. Then Zelena started signing more. Zelena then made both hands flat, and she brushed one hand against the other for the sign "NICE." Zelena then made a "D" handshape on both hands and tapped them together once for the word"MEET." Then Zelena pointed at Emma, and Emma knew that Zelena just signed that it was nice to meet her. Emma smiled softly and signed as well as talked at the same time.

“It’s nice to meet you as well!”

Once Zelena introduced herself, she smiled and then slowly said something to Regina before giving her a hug and leaving. After she left, Henry immediately tugged Emma's hand to get Emma's attention, and once he got her attention, he hugged her. Emma felt so loved by this little ten-year-old boy already that she got down on her knees and hugged him back. Emma saw that Regina smiled at this in a way that looked like Regina was happy that Henry took a liking to Emma so much and so fast.

As Henry left to go set the table up for dinner, Regina told Emma to follow her by waving her hand in a way saying "C'mon." Emma didn't even second-guessed this, and she quickly followed Regina to the kitchen. Regina went to the fridge and pulled out the marinara sauce and put it on the counter. She then went to the cabinet next to the refrigerator and opened it. Regina pulled out spaghetti noodles. Emma then knew that they were going to have spaghetti tonight, and Emma didn't mind that one bit. Emma helped Regina cook dinner, and once dinner was made, Emma helped by bringing the food out to the table. Henry had gone back to playing his video games while dinner was cooked, but once the food was on the table, Henry immediately got up from the couch as he sat at the table.

As they all got their plate of spaghetti and started eating, Henry showed Emma some of the signs he taught himself from looking them up online. Emma was surprised at how much that boy could learn in such a short period of time, although Emma was pretty thankful for it. She knew that Henry would be signing like a pro in no time if he kept it up. Emma also was pretty surprised at how the signs were right, knowing that most signs online aren't always correct.

After they finished eating, it was time for Henry to go to bed for school tomorrow. After giving Regina and Emma a hug and saying goodnight, he went off to bed, leaving Regina and Emma alone. Emma insisted on helping with the dishes, and Regina couldn't talk her out of helping. Regina just smiled and accepted Emma's help, and once the dishes were all done, Emma and Regina just stared at each other for a few minutes while still standing by the sink. Emma then pulled Regina in for a kiss, and Regina kissed Emma back lustily. This time Robin wasn't lurking anywhere around them, and they were alone. 

As the kiss deepened with a more fiery passion, Emma could feel Regina going up her dress again, just like earlier today, and this time Emma knew nothing would interrupt this moment. Right before Emma could feel Regina’s hand get in between her legs, Regina pulled away from the kiss and stared into Emma's eyes as if trying to read her for a few seconds. Regina then grabbed Emma's hand and led her upstairs to her bedroom.

As they made their way into Regina's bedroom, Regina shut the door behind them and locked it. Regina then kissed Emma again, passionately. Emma could feel herself getting more and more aroused. She didn’t want this to stop. She needed to be touched by Regina, and Emma desperately wanted to touch Regina and connect with her at a much deeper level. As Regina moved her kisses down to Emma’s neck, Emma moaned softly in pleasure from the touches. Emma now began to feel wet in her panties. Emma now desperately wanted to touch Regina all over. Emma pulled away from Regina just a little to where Emma could cup Regina’s face with her hands and pull her in for another passionate kiss on the lips. As they kissed, Emma slowly unzipped Regina’s dress from the back, and then Emma broke the kiss. Emma slowly undressed Regina, and then went back to kissing Regina’s lips again.

Regina then brought up Emma’s dress and broke the kiss to pull Emma’s dress over her head and threw it on the floor. Then Regina kissed Emma again on the lips. As the kiss deepened, Emma slowly unhooked Regina's bra and slid it off and threw it on the floor. Emma then softly pushed Regina on the bed and got on top of her. She then went back to kissing Regina passionately on the lips before slowly moving her kisses down to Regina’s neck. As she kissed Regina’s neck, Emma could tell that Regina moaned. She felt Regina’s voice box vibrate as she kissed her neck, and that only meant one thing to Emma. That Regina moaned and was enjoying every minute of this.

As Emma slowly made her way down to Regina’s boobs kissing her, she slowly sucked on each boob. She started with the right boob and sucked on it for a moment. Rolling her tongue around Regina’s nipple softly before sucking on it again and then repeating the same pattern onRegina’s left boob. Emma then slowly traced a line of kisses down Regina’s navel until she got to her pussy.Emma could feel how wet Regina was through her white panties. Emma rubbed her fingers up and down Regina’s pussy softly above Regina’s panties, making Regina more soaked. Emma then smiled and slowly took off Regina's panties and again rubbed Regina's pussy slowly with her hand.

As Emma rubbed up and down Regina's pussy entrance, she approached her face carefully and put her lips on Regina’s pussy and licked it once to get the first taste of Regina’s wetness. Emma then slowly started licking Regina’s labia with her tongue. She then skillfully moved her tongue up and down a few times, before running her tongue up to Regina's clit and slowly sucking on it. Emma then circled Regina's clit with her tongue nice and slowly. As Emma was sucking on Regina’s clit, Emma started rubbing Regina’s pussy entrance at the same time. 

About a minute later, Emma slipped two fingers into Regina’s pussy entrance and started moving them slowly, in and out, while still sucking on Regina's clit. As Emma increased the rhythm of her tongue and fingers, Regina's hip bucking movements became faster with the pleasure Emma was giving her. Emma started running her tongue more quickly around Regina's clit in little mini circles, and her fingers pounding Regina's pussy entrance hard. As Emma increased her speed, so did Regina's hip movements. Until all of a sudden, Regina squeezed Emma's head between her legs for a few seconds before letting go and collapsing her legs on the bed. Emma then pulled her face away from Regina’s pussy as well as her fingers. Cum covered Emma's fingers, and so Emma slowly licked it off with pure pleasure. Emma then licked Regina's pussy one last time to make sure she got more cum in her mouth to swallow before making her way back up to Regina's lips and kissing her again with a fiery passion.

Regina kissed Emma back passionately and then slowly turned Emma over she was now on top of Emma. Regina placed her left thigh between Emma’s legs and lowered herself on Emma’s left thigh. Regina started rubbing her pussy up and down Emma's leg, causing her thigh also to go up and down Emma's pussy. Emma then started moving her hips so that she was also rubbing her pussy on Regina's thigh. As Regina moved faster and faster, so did Emma. Emma moaned in pleasure. She didn't want to stop. As Regina kept moving faster and faster, Emma’s hip movements moved faster and faster up and down Regina’s thigh. Emma then pushed Regina's thigh deeper into her pussy with her hands as she moved her hips up one last time before collapsing back on the bed and releasing the pressure Emma put on Regina's leg. Emma came fast and hard, and she could feel her cum all over Regina’s thigh. Regina had also cum once again all over Emma’s thigh. Emma felt like this was the best thing she had ever done with another woman. For some reason, Regina did it better than anyone she's ever been with, and this pleased Emma to the core. That was the best tribbing Emma has ever done with another woman. 

After Emma and Regina, both came on each other's thighs, Regina cupped Emma’s face and kissed her lips passionately again. Regina’s kisses slowly moved down to Emma’s chin and then down to her neck. Emma started moaning still from Regina's touches. Regina’s kisses on her skin sent a chill through her entire body. It felt so pleasing in every way possible to Emma. She didn't want this to end. Not yet. Regina had cum twice now, but she only came once, and she desperately wanted to cum again.

Regina's kisses slowly went from her neck to her boobs; she could feel Regina's tongue tracing circles around her nipples, just like she had done with Regina not too long ago. Though having it done to you and giving pleasure to another are two totally different things. Both very pleasing, of course. 

As Emma felt Regina's tongue circle around her nipples softy, Emma felt her nipples get hard, and it made her pussy start to become soaked wanting and needing to be touched. Emma moaned again and softly whispered to Regina as softly as she could. Without hearing her own voice, she couldn’t tell if she was too loud or not. Though, she still used her voice and started begging Regina for more. 

"Oh my, Regina. Please don’t stop. Please just go down on me. I’m begging you. My pussy is so wet for you! I want you to make me cum again! Make me cum, Regina!"

Regina softly put her hand over Emma's mouth as if she was too loud, and Regina stopped sucking on Emma's boobs and looked up at Emma with a look as if telling her to stop talking and let her finish doing what she's doing. Emma understood perfectly and nodded in agreement. Regina then smiled at Emma lustily and removed her hand from Emma's mouth. She slowly went back to sucking on Emma's boobs and circling her nipples with her tongue. Emma's nipples were hard, and her pussy was craving to be touched. Emma started bucking her hips as if trying to hump the air to feel something, to ease the ache to be touched. Regina slowly made her way down Emma's navel with her kisses, and as she got to Emma’s pussy, she licked it once to tease Emma. Emma saw Regina look up and smile at her before going back to slowly rubbing her tongue up and down Emma’s pussy. Emma moaned in pure pleasure. The touch of Regina’s tongue on her pussy sent chills to her whole body, and it felt pleasurable to Emma. 

As Regina's tongue moved in circles around Emma's clit, Emma grabbed Regina's hair as if to hold her head in between her legs to make sure she finished what she started. Regina's tongue went around faster and faster in little circles around Emma’s clit before slowly working her way down Emma’s pussy entrance and sticking her tongue in and out of it like a little mini dick. Emma then closed her eyes and bent her head back. Louder moans came from Emma's mouth, and she couldn't stop moaning. Her hip movements moved up and down with Regina’s tongue going in and out of Emma’s pussy. As Regina’s tongue became faster and faster in and out of Emma’s pussy, Emma’s hip movements became faster. Regina could feel Emma's pussy walls tighten all around her tongue, and then suddenly Emma let out a big moan as she lifted her hips and held Regina's hair and head in place in her pussy, before she finally collapsed back on the bed. 

Emma then let go of Regina’s hair and started breathing slowly in and out. Emma's cum came all over Regina’s face and tongue. Regina happily smiled up at Emma and licked Emma’s pussy one last time to get all the cumin her mouth and swallowed it. Regina then made her way back up to Emma’s face and kissed her lips passionately before breaking the kiss for air and smiling into Emma's eyes as Emma smiled back, looking into Regina's eyes. Emma noticed Regina had that beautiful sparkle in her eyes again as she had before. Emma admired that sparkle in Regina’s eyes. She could tell Regina was genuinely happy, and she never wanted that happiness to fade away. 

Regina slowly got off from Emma and laid right beside her in the bed, still smiling. Emma was always smiling, as well. Emma and Regina had just had the most beautiful sex that Emma has ever had, and that made her delighted to the point to where she eventually fell asleep, and so did Regina. Emma knew this was the best night of her life, and she only hoped that nothing would ever come in between her and Regina's relationship.


	11. Chapter 11

Emma and Regina both woke up to Regina’s alarm going off at 5:00AM in the morning. Emma couldn’t hear Regina’s alarm but Regina obviously did. Emma woke up when she felt Regina softly brushing her hair with her hands. Emma had spent the night at Regina’s place and Emma actually felt very happy about that, although now Emma realized something. It was 5 AM on a Tuesday ,which meant she had to get ready for school today and Regina needed to get to the school campus as well since she’s on the board. Emma didn’t really know what to do. She looked at Regina and she saw Regina just smiling at her. It didn’t seem like Regina was at all concerned that Emma had to be at school soon. To Emma, it looked like Regina didn’t even wanna get out of bed and to be honest, Emma didn’t want to get up either,because that meant she had to leave Regina. But Emma had to get to school today. She couldn’t afford to miss class. Emma then smiled back at Regina as Regina was still smiling at her with that sparkle in her eyes again, that distinctive sparkle that Emma now adores and can’t live without.

“I have to get ready for school and all my stuff is at my apartment. Is there any way you could drive me back to my apartment so I can take a shower and get ready?” said Emma verbally.

Regina then brushed Emma’s hair with her hand and smiled at her once more. Then, she gave Emma a kiss on the lips and Emma didn’t mind the morning breath. She just liked kissing Regina and after with what happened between them last night, Emma felt like she now loved Regina even more. Almost as if she was more connected with her now, in some indescribable way. Once Regina broke the kiss, she smiled at Emma again,before slowly getting up and out of bed and getting her laptop from her desk and turning it on. Once it was turned on, she opened up a Word document and started typing. Once Regina was done trying, she turned the screen towards Emma and showed it to her.

“I left my phone downstairs on the kitchen counter. I was too focused on getting you up here last night that I forgot my phone downstairs. So, I’m using this to write to you. You said you needed to take a shower so why not take a shower with me? Once our shower is done, I will let you dress in whatever dress I have that may fit you and then I can drive you to school? We can go together? I am starting not to care if anyone sees us together anymore. I personally never liked teaching. I only am teaching because my mother owns the property and the school. I came from a rich family and my mother wanted me to teach at her school. Then she put me on the board although now, I’m starting to hate it. It seems like the same thing everyday. It’s starting to get old. I am writing a book about fantasy. I was thinking of maybe getting it published one day. Like you, what I’m most passionate about is writing.”

After Emma read that, she looked at Regina with an “oh” face. She didn’t entirely know how to respond to that. Emma then looked into Regina’s eyes as if trying to read her facial expressions and then Emma finally gathered up her thoughts.

“I didn’t know that. Your mother owns the school and that’s why you’re a teacher? That was not something I was expecting. Though, if you’re not happy then why don’t you just quit? Then we wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore and we can actually be a couple out in public for real. I mean, if that’s what you want, obliviously. Also, I think that it can also help solve yourRobin issue. Maybe things won’t be so bad then?”

Regina then just stared blankly into Emma’s eyes for a few seconds almost as if she didn’t know how to respond. Then she started typing on the laptop. Once she was done, she showed it to Emma.

“Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. My mother owns the school and that is why I am a teacher there. You are right though. I am not happy and maybe quitting would solve my Robin problem. But, I do have one thing to be thankful for. If I wasn’t a teacher there, I would have never met you and personally I wouldn’t change that for anything. I have come to really grow so fond of you to where I don’t think I can bare losing you now and after last night, I definitely don’t think I can handle losing someone I already fell hard for.”

Emma then looked at Regina and her jaw dropped. Her heart started pounding so fast to where she thought that maybe Regina might be able to hear it. She could barely even speak. She felt weak and she started getting butterflies in her stomach again. Regina just told her that she fell hard for her, which only meant one thing to Emma and that one thing meant that Regina loved her. This made Emma very happy, but Regina’s love confession made her mind go in so many directions, imagining all the possibilities that lay ahead, that she almost wasn’t able to respond. With all the fibers in her being, Emma finally spoke with her voice kinda crackly. Regina could definitely tell she caught Emma off guard.

“You love me? Like, you actually LOVE me?” asked Emma still disbelieving what she just heard.

This time, Regina didn’t type anything down on her laptop. Instead, she shook her head yes and started signing something. Regina pointed to herself. Then she formed an “A” handshape on both her hands and crossed them over her chess as if she was hugging herself. Then, she pointed to Emma and Emma recognized this immediately and smiled.

“I love you too, Regina!” said Emma verbally.

Emma saw the sparkle in Regina’s eyes grow even more. She could tell that this made Regina genuinely happy and Emma felt just as happy. Regina then cupped Emma’s face with both her hands and pulled her in for another kiss after setting the laptop to the side on the bed so it didn’t fall off her lap. Once they broke for air, they both just smiled at each other for a moment.Regina then grabbed the laptop and started typing something on the screen again. Once she was done, she showed it to Emma.

“You never did answer my question, Emma. Do you want to take a shower together and pick out a dress of mine that will fit you to wear to school today?”

Emma then looked at Regina and smiled before pulling her in for another kiss. Regina kissed Emma back very passionately. This time, they didn’t break the kiss until they both desperately needed air. There lips were swollen a little from the kiss. Regina then smiled at Emma again and then went back to typing something on the laptop again and once she was done, she showed it to Emma.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes?”

Emma then smiled even wider at Regina as she shook her head yes and Regina smiled just as wide. Emma couldn’t think of a time where she was ever this happy. Regina made her the happiest woman on this planet and now that she just confessed their love to one another, Emma couldn’t bare the thought of ever losing Regina. Emma pulled Regina in for yet another kiss before they both finally got out of the bed. Regina put the laptop back on the dresser and closed it but kept it on. Regina showed Emma the way down the hallway from her bedroom to the linen closet.. Regina picked up a towel and gave it to Emma. She then grabbed a towel for herself. Both women were still very naked from last night. As Regina led Emma to the bathroom, they both hopped in the shower together. 

As Regina turned the water on, they both got themselves wet under the shower head. Once both women were wet, Regina immediately pulled Emma in for another kiss as the water was running down on them. They made love again in the shower before finally actually bathing. Once they were done, they hopped out of the shower and dried off with the towels. Emma wrapped the towel around her body as Regina did the same before opening the bathroom door to go back into Regina’s room. Emma almost had a mini heart attack as she saw Henry on the other side of the door. Henry then started signing what he had taught himself.

“Emma? What are you and my mom doing? Did you two take a shower together? Did you spend the night?” asked Henry.

Emma couldn’t believe that Henry knew how to sign all that. To Emma’s surprise, Henry didn’t seem alarmed by it. Instead, he was smiling and waiting for either Emma or Regina to say something. Emma didn’t know what to say. She was just staring and waiting for Regina to say something. Emma then noticed Regina speaking to Henry but she didn’t understand what was said. Henry then left and went back to his room smiling the whole time. Emma couldn’t believe it.

“What did you say to him?” asked Emma verbally.

Regina then took Emma’s hand and led her back to her bedroom.She grabbed the laptop and started typing something on the screen again. Once she was done, she showed it to Emma.

“I told Henry that we both took a shower together and that you are now my girlfriend. He might be young but he understands more than you would expect. I also told him to go get ready for school because Zelena will be here in about two hours to take him to school. My sister always takes him to school every morning because his school is not close to the campus. I would never have time to take him to school and then drive myself to work or else I would be late for work. And to be able to do so Henry would have to wake up earlier, and I don’t want to sacrifice his sleep hours over this. Zelena helps me out with that and I’m very grateful for her kindness and her time. But besides that, now we need to get dressed. You can choose whatever dress you want to wear from my closet.”

After Emma read that, she smiled at Regina and kissed her passionately on the lips. Once they broke for air, they both smiled into each other’s eyes before Regina finally walked over to her closet and opened it. Regina grabbed a black blouse that showed her cleavage a little bit as well as black dress pants. She then went over to her dresser drawer and grabbed a pair of panties for herself and then grabbed another pair for Emma to wear since she didn’t have any clean underwear of her own.Spending the night at Regina’s home wasn’t something she planned, so Emma didn’t pack an overnight bag. Emma took the pair of panties from Regina and put them on. As she watched Regina get dressed, she couldn’t help but smile and feel so much love for this woman. Her heart was bursting with so much love. It felt warm and tender. Emma has never felt like this with anyone before.

Emma then walked to the closet and looked through Regina’s dresses. Emma noticed that dress pants and blouses were on the right side of the closet while dresses were on the left. Unlike herself, Regina had a very organized closet. Emma’s closet at home was just filled with all types of clothes in no particular order. Nothing was organized. As Emma looked through the dresses, she found this beautiful yellow dress. It had a built in bra in it so Emma didn’t need a bra, which was good especially since hers was now used and she always wore a laundered one every day.

Emma took the yellow dress and put it on. The dress was tight and showed Emma’s curves and it also showed a little bit of cleavage. It was a beautiful semi formal dress and she liked the way it complemented her body.

Once they were both dressed, Regina grabbed Emma’s hand and led them back into the bathroom where Regina took out her makeup bag from the cabinet drawer underneath the sink. Regina fixed up her makeup and gestured Emma to do the same if she wanted to and Emma did. Once they were both done with their makeup, Regina brushed her hair and gave Emma the hairbrush to use to brush her own hair. 

“Oh, thank you Regina but it’s alright. I hardly ever brush my hair because my hair is naturally wavy. I will just wear my hair in nice wavy locks today. But again, thank you.” said Emma verbally.

Regina then looked at Emma as if she didn’t know and had thought Emma always styled her hair like that. She didn’t know that Emma’s wavy hair was natural. Regina wondered how many other things she didn’t know about Emma, although now she was thrilled to discover new and unknown things about her. Getting to know Emma in a much more profound and intimate way would be a delight and she was eager to do so. Regina then smiled at Emma and put the hair brush away. Once they both were finally ready to go, Regina led them back into her room and grabbed her laptop and put it in her laptop case. She then wrapped the laptop bag strap around her and gestured for Emma to follow her out. Emma grabbed her hearing aides from the top of Regina’s dresser and tried to see if there was any battery life in them at all, though both hearing aides were dead. Although she craved it, Emma wasn’t expecting to spend the night at Regina’s place so she didn’t have her hearing aids charger with her. She couldn’t foresee that a family style dinner with Henry would turn into a lovemaking spree with Regina. Regina unexpectedly offered her a wonderful opportunity to spend more time with her last night, and she definitely wasn’t going to turn it down over clean underwear or a charger.

Emma then put her hearing aides in her ears because she had nowhere else to put them. She told Regina that they were both dead and needed to be charged. Regina understood and told Emma that she would drive her back to her apartment so she could get her hearing aids charger and charge them on their way to school with the portable charger she was going to let Emma borrow. Regina had two portable chargers, so Regina was going to use one for her phone during work so her phone wouldn’t be dead the whole day. Emma thanked her in advance and they both walked out of the bedroom and slowly made their way to the kitchen. Emma followed Regina as she led the way.

When they both got to the kitchen, Henry was already there eating cereal. Regina then put her laptop on the kitchen counter and grabbed a bowl and an Apple Jacks cereal box and showed them to Emma with a questioning face. Emma understood that Regina was trying to ask if she wanted to eat Apple Jacks cereal.Even though Emma doesn’t really eat breakfast, today she did. Emma figured that if she didn’t eat something, Regina would probably give her hell about it saying how unhealthy it was to skip breakfast and Emma didn’t really wanna fight about a stupid thing like that. So, Emma joined them on the table and ate the cereal.

Once they were all done eating their breakfast Emma noticed Zelena walked into the kitchen and greeted Regina and Henry. Emma then looked to Regina silently asking her how Zelena got into the house without someone letting her in. Regina saw Emma’s silent question in her face and then picked up her phone that was now on 10% battery and started typing away. Once she was done, Emma’s phone buzzed. Emma had left her phone on the kitchen table as well. Emma didn’t even notice this until after her phone buzzed.

As Emma grabbed her phone and unlocked it, she noticed her phone was on 60% battery and to her surprise, she was very happy about this. Emma hardly ever uses her phone unless it’s to text Regina or Ruby so her phone battery life lasts quite a long time. Emma also noticed the time on her phone. It was now 6:30AM. As Emma went to the text, she slowly read it.

“My sister Zelena has a spare key to my house. I gave her one just in case she ever needed it and now she uses it every morning on a school day to let herself in when she picks up Henry to take him to school. Also, she whispered in my ear yesterday before officially leaving and told me that you’d probably stay the night. Looks like she was right.”

After Emma read that text, she shook her head in understanding with an “oh” face. She didn’t want to talk back to what the text said because she didn’t want Zelena to know that they were talking about her, so Emma decided to text Regina back instead. Once she was done, Regina’s phone went off and Regina picked up her phone and read the text.

“I understand perfectly. I am glad that you have such a loving sister, Regina. She seems to care a lot about you and Henry.”

After Regina read that text, she smiled at Emma and Emma could tell that Zelena knew they were texting each other. Emma saw Zelena smile and looking at them both back and fourth and that only made Emma and Regina smile even more. Emma felt her cheeks get warm from blushing and that made her feel a little embarrassed. Although, Emma didn’t mind it because she noticed Regina blushing as well and that made her stomach have butterflies yet again. She just couldn’t help but feel this way towards Regina. 

As Emma saw Zelena tell Regina something that she didn’t understand, she then noticed Zelena smiling at her and waving bye as she and Henry started walking out of the kitchen. Henry of course gave Emma a hug before leaving with Zelena to go to school. Once they left, it was just Emma and Regina alone in the kitchen. Regina smiled at Emma and walked over to her and pulled her in for another passionate kiss. They smiled broadly and looked intensely into each other’s eyes. Their foreheads touching one another as they hugged and smiled.

After a few minutes, Regina pulled away and grabbed her phone again and started typing away. Once she was done, Emma’s phone buzzed. Emma then looked at her phone and read the text.

“We should get going. We need to start heading over to your place so you can pick up your hearing aids charger. Then we can both drive to school in my car. I don’t care who sees us together anymore. Okay?”

After Emma read that, she shook her head in understanding and told Regina that she’s right and that they should probably get going. As Regina grabbed her laptop from the kitchen counter, she took Emma’s hand and led her to her front door. Regina grabbed her car keys and purse from the little mini table by the door and then opened the door. As Regina gestured Emma out, she followed behind her and closed the door and locked it. Regina then took Emma’s hand and smiled widely as they started walking to her car together holding hands.

As they got closer to Regina’s car in the driveway, they both noticed a man with a gun standing next to Regina’s car on the driver’s side. Regina stopped dead in her tracks and so didEmma. Emma noticed Regina started squeezing her hand in fear. She could tell Regina was now scared. After smiling and being so happy moments ago, her face became panicked. As the man walked closer towards them, Emma noticed that this man was Robin. Now Emma was panicking just as much as Regina. She didn’t know what to do from this point on but she knew that whatever happened, she wasn’t going to let Robin hurt Regina in anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

As Regina was squeezing Emma’s hand in fear, Emma started to walk forward while pushing Regina softly behind her so Robin couldn’t shoot point blank at her. He would have to go through Emma first in order to get to Regina and Robin noticed this. Robin didn’t seem to care. He held the gun point blank at Emma’s chest and Emma knew he was about to pull the trigger. Though, before he could pull the trigger, Regina walked to the side of Emma so she was no longer standing behind her. Emma noticed Regina was saying something to Robin. Emma couldn’t understand what was being said and she silently cursed her luck. She felt so helpless. As Regina’s lips stopped moving, Emma noticed Robin now speaking. Yet Emma still didn’t know what the hell was being said and this made her anxious. She felt so out of the loop and she didn’t like this one bit. 

When Robin was still saying stuff that Emma couldn’t understand, Emma noticed a car pull up in the driveway but not so close to where Robin noticed. Emma didn’t recognize this car and she couldn’t see who the person in the car was though, as soon as this person got out of the car, she noticed it was Zelena. Emma then noticed that Henry was in that car. Henry must’ve forgotten something for school and now this started to scare Emma even more. She didn’t want Henry involved in this. 

Robin still didn’t notice how Zelena and Henry were behind them. Emma then looked over to Regina and saw Regina was still talking to Robin, but this time she saw Regina’s facial expressions go from fear to concern, for now it was not just their lives that were in danger, but Zelena’s and Henry’s too. Emma could see Regina’s body language and it wasn’t reassuring in any way. Regina was still holding Emma’s hand and she was still squeezing it hand.

Emma then looked back over to Robin who was now saying something heatedly. She still didn’t understand and then she looked at Zelena. Emma noticed Zelena had her phone in her hand and she was calling someone. Emma wondered if Robin could hear Zelena in any way and she desperately hoped he couldn’t hear her. Emma now saw Zelena say something over the phone and right as that happened, Robin looked behind him and saw Zelena. Now Emma was sure he heard her and since Henry was still in the car, this wasn’t good. Emma started noticing Zelena putting her phone in her pocket now and saying something. Robin raised the gun and pointed it at Zelena. Regina dropped Emma’s hand and started walking in Robin’s direction. Emma didn’t know what was going on and she felt desperate, but a few moments later, police showed up at Regina’s place.

Emma could see all the siren lights and police cars all around. The police got out of their cars and aimed their guns at Robin. Emma knew that the police were telling Robin to put down his gun. She wasn’t stupid. Although, now Emma saw Robin quickly turn around to face Regina and tried shooting her while he shouted something. Right before he could fully pull the trigger, all the police officers shot Robin at point-blank and Robin fell to the ground all bloody. Emma knew he wasn’t going to survive that. Robin was dead almost instantly and Regina and Emma just watched it happen with their very own eyes. The moment was too surreal. They were in shock. They stood there, wide eyed and frozen. Neither one of them said anything. Two police officers approached them to ask if they were doing ok. Emma felt in a haze. She went through this ordeal isolated, trying to imagine what was being said. She knew Regina would look out for her, she read that on her eyes as soon as they were facing Robin’s gun. But deep down she wished she could have done more to protect Regina, Zelena and Henry. If only she knew what was being discussed, what Robin was demanding from Regina.

Emma never went to school that day like she was planning to do and Regina never went into work either. Instead, they stayed at Regina’s place all day answering the questions the police were asking. They had to write everything down for Emma to understand because the police station’s interpreter was on sick leave that day and couldn’t help with the case. Emma knew that nothing would ever be the same again after that day. She feared that this experience might change Regina in some way or even traumatize her. Hell, she was traumatized about it herself and she didn’t really know what to do from here on.

The police made Zelena and Henry stay home with Emma and Regina as well. They brought in a child’s psychologist to evaluate Henry, just to make sure he was fine. The whole house was full of police officers and it wasn’t until a few hours later that the police finally left. They had taken Robin’s body and put him in a body bag not too long ago and everyone was sitting in silence and only talked whenever the police had asked questions.

After the police had all finally got everything they needed, they left the house leaving Zelena, Henry, Regina and Emma alone. Henry didn’t see Robin get killed because he had ducked down in the car upon Zelena’s demand. Regina was very thankful for that and Emma could see it. Zelena then took Henry up to his room to play video games with him to distract him and get his mind off of what just happened. Emma could see that Henry didn’t understand most of what was going on but she was thankful that he was no longer in harm’s way.

After a moment of prolonged silence, Emma turned and looked at Regina as they were sitting on the couch. She put her hand over Regina’s trying to give her comfort in some way. Regina then looked at Emma still troubled by what had happened, but with pure affection in her eyes. Emma knew that Regina could tell that she was only trying to help. Regina then pulled Emma in for a hug and started crying hysterically in her arms. Emma just held her tight as she cried. Once Regina started calming down, she pulled back and looked up into Emma’s eyes. Regina’s eyes still red and teary from crying. Regina then pulled Emma in for a kiss and Emma kissed her back passionately. After they pulled away, Regina sighed and hugged Emma tightly once more and Emma hugged Regina back just as tightly.

Emma never went home that day or that night. She stayed with Regina that night as well as the next night. She never got her hearing aids charger to charge her hearing aids and instead, she stayed with Regina just keeping her company and comforting her, making sure she knew she was safe and loved. Zelena never went home either. She stayed with them and made sure Henry and Regina felt safe.

As the next morning came around it was now Thursday. Emma woke up to Regina’s hand brushing her hair softly again. It was 5 AM again which meant Regina’s alarm had gone off and woke Regina up. Regina had turned off her alarm the last two days. Today, they both had no choice but to go to school. Regina had to work and Emma had to go to classes in order for her to not fail this college year. Missing two days of school was bad enough and now Emma would have to make up for what she missed from her English class yesterday and her math and science class the day before. Although to be honest, Emma didn’t care. Regina needed her more and she definitely wasn’t going to just leave her after what had just happened.

As Regina got up and out of bed, she grabbed her phone from the charger and started texting away. Once she was done texting, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text message. Regina had let Emma borrow an extra phone cord she had for her phone that night so her phone didn’t die. Regina knew that Emma hadn’t charged her phone the previous night, an omission she also made, because they both were in a hurry to get upstairs and make love to each other instead. So, after Emma grabbed her phone from the charger, she read the text.

“Thank you so much for staying another two nights with me Emma! I appreciate it. I didn’t want to sleep alone after what happened the other day. Although, today I can’t miss work again and you can’t miss school either. You have my class today. Remember? So if I have to go, you’re going to. I will drive you. You can wear one of my dresses again after we both take a shower together. How does that sound?”

After Emma read that text message, she looked up at Regina.

“There isn’t any way I could ever miss your class. I need to pass your class in order to graduate with my Arts degree. Remember? Plus, it’s your class, which means I don’t have to entirely leave you yet and personally, I don’t want to leave you. I love you, Regina.”

Regina then smiled softly at Emma and grabbed Emma’s phone. She put it back on the desk where Emma had originally put it by the bed. She then grabbed Emma’s hand and pulled her off the bed. Regina then hugged Emma tightly for a few moments while kissing her on the lips. Emma could tell that Regina was happy again. She could tell that Regina was no longer scared for her life like she was two days prior and Emma was very thankful for this. 

Emma and Regina both took a shower together and they both got dressed in the room afterwards. Emma was enjoying these morning routines and how easily she had slipped into it in just two days. Regina fixed her makeup and so did Emma. Emma then grabbed her hearing aids from the dresser and put them in her ears. Both hearing aids were dead but Emma put them on out of habit. Besides, she couldn’t just leave them on Regina’s dresser. Once Emma’s hearing aids were in her ears, Emma looked at Regina.

“My hearing aids are still dead. Is it okay if we stop by my place like we were going to do the other day so I can grab my hearing aids charger? I can charge them with the portable charger you lend me. It’s still in my purse. I put it there before walking out the door the other day. Plus, I also need my backpack for school as well.” said Emma verbally.

Emma then saw Regina grab her phone from the dresser where she left it and started typing away. After a few moments, Emma’s phone buzzed and Emma quickly read it.

“That is fine. Let’s go downstairs and eat breakfast with Henry and Zelena. I know they’re both up by now and they are probably in the kitchen eating already.”

After Emma read that text, she nodded in understanding and followed Regina downstairs to the kitchen. Once again Emma didn’t want to eat breakfast, but after what had happened with Robin,, she wasn’t going to tell Regina this. Emma just sucked it up and ate breakfast with Regina, Henry and Zelena and after they were all done eating, Zelena left with Henry to take him to school leaving Regina and Emma alone just like yesterday.

As Regina grabbed her things, Emma followed Regina out of the kitchen and to the front door. Emma’s purse was on the mini table by the door where she had put it after coming back inside to talk to the police yesterday. Emma then grabbed her purse and waited for Regina to open the door. Regina put one hand on the door knob and then paused. Emma could sense something was wrong. She could see Regina drifting somewhere else in her mind. Emma then took her left hand and cupped Regina’s right side of her face and looked into Regina’s eyes.

“It’s going to be okay. We can get through this. Together. It’ll just take time.” said Emma verbally.

Regina then shook her head yes but she looked worried. Emma knew that it might take some time for Regina to finally be at an okay stage from what had happened, but she also knew that no matter what she would be there with her and for her. Regina then looked back to the door and opened it slowly and ushered Emma out the door as she followed and locked the door behind her. As they both started walking to Regina’s car, Regina held Emma’s hand again until they had no choice but to part so Emma could get in the passenger side of the car. Regina got in and closed her eyes for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and started the engine. She then pulled out of the driveway and they drove in silence for what felt like an eternity. Emma wouldn’t have been able to hear Regina if she talked anyway so she understood the silence. Even if her hearing aids had been charged she still would have given Regina her space to keep processing yesterday’s tragic event.

As she drove into Emma’s apartment complex and parked, Emma asked Regina if she wanted to come in with her to get her backpack and hearing aids charger so Regina wouldn’t be out here alone. Emma didn’t want to leave Regina alone now and she was pretty sure that Regina didn’t wanna be left alone either.Regina then got her phone out of her pocket and started typing away and after a few seconds, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text message.

“Yes, I would like to come with you. Thank you for asking me and for not leaving me alone as you go to retrieve your things for school.”

After Emma read that text, she then looked at Regina.

“There is no way I would ever just leave you alone now. Especially after with what just happened.” said Emma verbally.

Emma then looked at her phone to check the time and the screen read 7:00 AM. She then looked at Regina again.

“Your class starts in one hour. We should probably go grab my things now so we can get to the school on time. I will help you write whatever you need me to write on the board today to tell the class what we need to do like I usually do. How’s that sound?” said Emma.

Regina shook her head yes and Emma knew that she agreed. As both of them got out of the car and walked up to Emma’s apartment door, Emma unlocked the door and walked inside. Regina followed close behind her. Once inside, Emma shut the door and put her purse on the coat rack and walked to her bedroom. Regina still following behind her. Emma grabbed her hearing aids charger and then took both hearing aids out of her ears and put them on the charger. Emma disconnected the charger case from the wall so she could hook it up to the portable charger Regina had given her. Emma then grabbed her backpack and put it over her shoulder and started to walk back out to the living room to the front door. She took the portable charger that Regina gave her out of her purse and plugged it into the hearing aids case charger with her cord.

Now that Emma’s hearing aids were charging, she put them away along with the portable charger in her backpack, before heading out the door of her apartment and locking the door with Regina behind her as they both walked back to Regina’s car. Emma grabbed Regina’s hand as they walked back to her car and Emma could see that taking her hand made Regina feel more at ease and safe.

As they both got into the car and Regina started driving off to the school campus, they both drove in silence again. Emma reflected on the fact that Regina had been truly honest when she said that she didn’t care if people saw them together. She could have easily asked her to take her own car to school when they got to her apartment. But she didn’t suggest it, she didn’t mention it, and they were heading to school in Regina’s car. When they got to the school campus parking lot, they parked close to the entrance and got out of the car together. Some of the students were out in the parking lot when they arrived and they saw Emma get out of Regina’s car. Emma could see these student’s jaw drop in disbelief and when Regina took Emma’s hand as they started walking inside the school together, Emma could tell that Regina really didn’t care who saw them together anymore. Emma wondered if Regina was really going to quit teaching now, since she was so public about them being together now. Emma knew that Regina didn’t really wanna teach so this made Emma think. 

As they got to Regina’s classroom, they both walked in after Regina unlocked her classroom door with the key. Emma put her stuff at her usual seat as Regina went to her desk and sat down. Emma noticed that Regina started looking through her papers and after a few moments, she pulled a piece of paper out and put it on her desk. Then Regina took out her phone from her pocket and started typing away and after a while, Emma’s phone went off. Emma was now in front of Regina’s desk when her phone buzzed. Emma pulled her phone out of her pocket and read the text.

“I had already written down everyone’s assignment for today on this piece of paper here on my desk. Would you please take this paper and copy what is on it onto the board?”

After Emma read that text, she then looked at Regina and nodded. Emma put her phone back in her pocket and grabbed the paper from Regina’s desk and started copying what was written on it on the board. It took Emma about 30 minutes to transcribe what was written on the paper to the board but after she was finished, she put the marker down and went back over to Regina’s desk. She put the paper absent-mindedly down on her desk. Emma was practically sitting on Regina’s desk as she waited for Regina to tell her what to do next. As Regina was writing something down on another piece of paper, Emma started thinking about what happened two days ago with Robin. Emma wondered what Robin had said to Regina and what Regina said to him. She also wondered what Zelena had said to him. Although Emma really wanted to know what was said, she didn’t want to bring Regina back into that dark place again so she didn’t bother to ask.

After Regina was done writing whatever it was that she was writing, she then looked up to Emma who was sitting on her desk next to her. Regina then stood up from her desk and walked closer to Emma. There faces practically touching. Regina looked into Emma’s eyes for a few moments before pulling her in for a kiss and Emma didn’t object. She kissed Regina back passionately and once they broke for air, Emma could see how Regina’s facial expression became more at ease and more loving. She didn’t look afraid that students would find them kissing. She didn’t seem to care at all, which made Emma start thinking yet again about what Regina had said, was she really going to quit teaching? Though, Emma didn’t bother to ask. She figured that Regina would tell her in her own time if she decided to quit.

While Emma and Regina were looking into each other’s eyes, students started piling inside the classroom little by little. Regina then pulled away from Emma and sat at her desk. Emma went to go sit at her usual seat and waited for everyone to get into the classroom for Regina to start teaching and once the class was complete, Regina began her lesson. Since Emma had written the lesson on the board, she already knew what to do so she didn’t pay too much attention to the interpreter when Regina was speaking. She focused more on Regina than the interpreter. She was just staring at her and Emma knew that the interpreter noticed this, though she still kept interpreting knowing that it was still her job.

Once Regina was done teaching, everyone focused on getting their assignments done. Emma then started her assignment and once she was done, she noticed that the class was almost over. She had just 5 minutes before class ended and once it finally did, everyone in the classroom left, leaving only Regina, Emma and the interpreter. Emma told the interpreter that she was alright and that she no longer needed her to interpret anything else since class was finished. And so the interpreter went on her way out of the classroom leaving just Regina and Emma alone.

Emma then got up from her seat and put her things back into her backpack and took her assignment to Regina at her desk. Regina took Emma’s assignment and put it with everyone else’s assignment in a pile on her desk for her to grade later on. Although, just as Regina grabbed her phone to text Emma something, some of the school board members walked into Regina’s classroom and walked up to Regina and Emma. Emma had no idea who these people were. She had never seen them before. Emma noticed them saying something to Regina and Regina looking very confused. They ushered Regina out of the classroom leaving Emma behind, which Emma thought was very weird and she didn’t understand what was going on. Emma then started to follow Regina and the other people out of the classroom door and to wherever they were taking Regina to.Though they stopped Emma and told her to stop following them. Emma didn’t understand what was said so Emma didn’t listen and started following them again.

Again, Emma was stopped and this time the person who stopped her shook her head no. Emma now understood that she wasn’t allowed to follow them, but she also didn’t understand what was going on. As they all disappeared into the distance and out of sight, Emma began to panic and then suddenly her phone buzzed with a text. Emma grabbed her phone out of her pocket and looked at her phone. Regina had texted her. Emma quickly read the text still panicking as to what had just happened.

“Don’t panic Emma. These people are also members of the board. They told me that I have to go with them but they didn’t tell me why. I’m guessing it’s because I didn’t care who saw us together anymore. Please wait for me inside my classroom. I will be there shortly and we can leave. I will tell you everything that is going on after I find out myself. I will see you soon. Please don’t go anywhere.”

After Emma read that text, she then walked back into Regina’s classroom and waited for her. She didn’t know what was going on but she had a bad feeling that it was something bad, but yet Emma also had this feeling that it was also something good. Emma didn’t really understand why she felt this way. Though, no matter what was going on, Emma had no choice but to wait for Regina’s return.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I hope you like it!!

As Emma waited for Regina to return to her classroom, her anxiety skyrocketed. She started panicking, unable to understand what was happening. She wondered if Regina was in trouble, if the other members on the school board were going to accuse her of misconduct, since it was possible that any of the students or perhaps other people might have seen them come to school together in Regina’s car. Regina’s mom owned the school, so Emma figured she couldn’t get fired, right? Emma’s thoughts became more and more panicked. It had been 30 minutes since Regina was practically dragged out of her own classroom by the other board, and she still didn’t know what was going on. Emma didn’t know what to do. She got her hearing aids from her charger case, which was still connected to Regina’s portable charger. She took them out and put them in her ears. The hearing aids were now fully charged and this made her feel more confident. They don’t take very long to charge fully. After Emma had put her hearing aids in her ears, she put the charger case and Regina’s portable charger back in her backpack. Waiting for Regina to come back was like waiting for someone she’s never met to come into her life.

Emma wanted to text Regina to ask what was going on, but then decided not to, knowing that she promised she’d be back soon. Besides she didn’t know in what kind of situation or argument Regina was, and she didn’t want to distract her. After about 10 more minutes had passed, Emma noticed Regina walking back into her classroom. Emma could see that Regina was sad.Disappointed more than sad really. Emma quickly ran over to Regina and immediately asked her what was going on. Regina just looked at Emma with almost teary eyes, not really knowing what to say and Emma could tell that this had to be something serious. Emma then noticed Regina holding something in her hand. It was some kind of paper. Emma looked at it with curiosity and then looked back at Regina.

“What is that you’re holding? What the hell is going on Regina?” asked Emma verbally.

Regina then gave Emma the paper she was holding and that’s when Emma realized that this was not a piece of paper. It was a picture. A large print of a picture of her and Regina kissing by her desk. Someone must have taken it the other day without them noticing it. It looked like the picture was taken from the classroom door. Emma then began to worry even more as she looked back up to Regina.

“What the hell? This is from the other day! You said you saw Robin lurking around that day and you were pretty freaked out. Did Robin take this picture of us?” asked Emma.

Regina nodded and grabbed her phone from her pocket and started tying away. After a few minutes, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text and Emma quickly got her phone out from her pocket and read the text.

“Yes Robin took this picture of us the other day and left it in the board room for the other board members to see. I guess he knew I always worked in my classroom so he was pretty sure I wouldn’t see this before others did. The other board members suspended me without pay. My mother doesn’t know yet but when she finds out, she’s probably going to try and make it go away somehow so I can come back to work. Although, I don’t think I care too much to want to come back after this.”

After Emma read that text, she looked up at Regina. Even now that Robin was dead, he still managed to mess with Regina’s life. Emma didn’t know what to do or how to react. All Emma could think about was how sorry she felt. She felt that this was all her fault for getting too close to Regina. She felt that if she had never gotten so close to Regina none of this would’ve happened and Robin would still be alive.

Emma then just pulled Regina in for a tight hug. She hugged her without letting her go for a few minutes and Regina hugged Emma back just as tightly. After a few minutes had passed, Emma finally broke the hug and looked into Regina’s eyes while brushing her cheek gently with her hand. Regina could see that Emma was very sorry and didn’t know what to do from this point forward.

“I am so sorry! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Do you regret it? Do you regret ever getting close to me?” asked Emma.

Regina then looked at Emma with an “oh” face and sadness in her eyes. She then started tying away on her phone again and after a few minutes, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text.

“Emma, no! I don’t regret ever getting close to you. Do you understand me? I would rather have to relive everything that has happened between us all over again if it meant that I got to still have you in my life. You brought happiness to my life. Something that I was only ever able to find with my son, and now I have it with you. In the last 2 weeks almost, you made me feel like I finally was meant to be someone’s everything. I love you Emma!”

After Emma read that text, she then put her phone back in her pocket and cupped Regina’s face with both her hands. With teary eyes she kissed Regina passionately on the lips. Emma didn’t want to ever lose Regina but she couldn’t stop rationalizing all of this. After they broke the kiss for air, Emma looked into Regina’s eyes.

“I feel this is my fault. This would’ve never happened if we had been just a little bit more careful when we were together. Robin might even still be alive and you’d still have your job. I feel so horrible, Regina. I don’t want to continue this class without you!”

Emma noticed Regina’s eyes getting more teary and tears finally started rolling down Regina’s cheeks. Regina let go of Emma and started typing away on her phone again. This time, it took longer for Regina to type. Once she was finally done, Emma’s phone buzzed and Emma quickly read the text.

“This is not all on you, Emma. It’s on me too. I was the one who stole your phone number from your school records. I was the one who asked you out. I was the one who let you get close to me. You did nothing but follow your own heart and interest in me. Please don’t blame yourself. What happened with Robin was his own fault. I feel very sad and sorry for his family and I feel like his life was taken from him too soon. Though, he got out of control. He wanted to kill me. Do you want to know what was said on the day he died? I know you didn’t understand anything of what was being said, but what he said that day made him even more despicable in my eyes, to such an extent that I am not all that sad that he died. Am I making sense? I know this sounds awful, and might make me look like a cold hearted person, but that’s how I feel about him at this point.”

Emma then looked up at Regina with her jaw dropped out of curiosity. Emma then nodded and told Regina that she would really like to know what was said. She told Regina she felt very helpless that she couldn’t understand anything that was said. Regina then started typing away on her phone again. It took Regina a while to type up this message as well. Emma started growing anxious to know what was said. After a few minutes had passed, Emma’s phone buzzed with a text and Emma quickly read it.

“Robin told me how I was going to go to hell for being with another woman romantically. He told me that I am a disgrace in God’s eyes and that the only way to fix what I had done with you was to get together with him and live out my life as a straight woman, so God can see me as redeemable. I felt disgusted that someone could ever tell someone that. I told him that it wasn’t his place to judge me for my actions or my love life and that he had no right being on my property. I told him to lower the gun and to just walk away. He didn’t listen. He kept rambling on about how I am a disgrace. That was when Zelena got there and called the police. Robin turned and looked at Zelena when he heard her giving my address to the police and telling them what was happening. He was about to shoot her when I yelled at him begging him to lower the gun, pleading with him not to shoot my sister, that it was me he wanted. After a few minutes of going back and fourth with him, asking him not to hurt any of you and telling him to just walk away, the police showed up just in time. Robin was about to pull the trigger, I could see it in his eyes. He was really going to shoot me, he had made up his mind. I have never been so scared for my life before as I was then. But it made me realize something.”

Emma then looked up at Regina with disgust about what Robin had told her. She also felt curiosity because Regina didn’t tell her what that ordeal had made her realize. Emma wondered what Regina meant.

“What did all that make you realize?” asked Emma verbally.

Regina then smiled a very soft teary eyed smile and then started typing away on her phone again. It took her just as long to type this message as it did with the previous two. Emma knew that it was just as long but she didn’t care. She wanted to know what was Regina’s realization. As Regina was typing away, Emma just kept starring at Regina’s face. Her face even when she was sad and crying was the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen in her life. After a few minutes had passed, Emma’s phone buzzed and she quickly read the text.

“I realized how much my life meant. I needed to be here for Henry. He’s still only just a kid and I also realized that I didn’t want to die when I had just found love. I want my life to end when I am old and gray with a beautiful wife by my side. With grandkids strolling around the house and making me laugh with them as they joke about how old I am but love me anyway. I realized that now that I finally found a woman who seems to love me just as much as I love her, I don’t want to let her go. Finding love is very difficult when you’re a lesbian and you’re not focusing on a love interest. You just kind of popped up in my life when I least expected it and now I don’t think I can bear the thought of losing you. It’s only been almost 2 weeks and yet I am already madly in love with you, Emma. This is what I felt when that gun was pointed at my face.”

After Emma read that text, she then started to cry happy tears.Emma put her phone back in her pocket and again pulled Regina in for a deep passionate kiss on the lips and this time, the kiss lasted for almost 5 minutes. This was the longest kiss they have ever had together. They had to breathe through their noses in order to get air and it seemed like neither one of them cared. They just didn’t want to part from the kiss but when they finally did, their lips were swollen. Emma then smiled at Regina as Regina smiled back at her. Both Emma and Regina felt genuinely happy and Emma was very thankful for this. Although, now it just occurred to Emma that Regina had just gotten suspended with no pay. Emma then slowly swept the smile off her face.

“I am going to have to continue this class every week without you. How am I going to do that? I can’t do that! I need you here.” Emma said.

Regina then started typing away on her phone again although it didn’t take her long to type this time and after a few secondsEmma’s phone buzzed with a text. Emma got her phone back out of her pocket and read the text.

“You will be fine. You will have a substitute teacher for the time being. I will finally have the time to finish the book I am writing so I can get it published. Even though I will no longer be your teacher, I will be your girlfriend. I will be with you every day as much as I can. You’ll probably start getting tired of me.”

Emma made a small laugh at that remark. That made Emma feel better than how she was just feeling a few moment ago.Knowing that Regina was going to be her official girlfriend even in public, made her happy beyond words. No more hiding or keeping their relationship secret. They were finally able to show their love and affection in town, instead of having to go out of town. Emma couldn’t be happier about this. Emma then brushed Regina’s hair softly and smiled again.

“I can never get tired of you, Regina!” said Emma.

Again Emma kissed Regina on the lips passionately and after they broke for air, they both smiled at each other for a few more moments before Regina started typing something on her phone again. Once she was done, Emma’s phone buzzed and again Emma quickly got her phone back out of her pocket and read the text.

“Would you mind helping me pack up my things here in my classroom? It’s not much. I want to take all the student’s poems with me. I don’t want the person who will be taking over my position to see any of the assignments I have done, mainly because they can make their own assignments up. I don’t have much to pack. Just a few folders full of papers as well as some of my personal items on my desk that I cannot leave here.”

After reading that text, Emma then told Regina that she’d be happy to help her pack and so she did. Once everything was all packed up and in Regina’s car, they both drove off together back to Regina’s place. As a few days had passed, Emma noticed that the substitute teacher that had taken Regina’s position to teach the poetry class was actually very nice. Emma figured that she couldn’t teach as well as Regina could but she wasn’t a bad teacher. Although, Emma missed Regina teaching her, she was also happy that she and Regina were now a public pairing together.

After that Emma and Regina spent a lot of time together after Emma’s school days. Emma had Regina and Henry over for dinner almost every other night, while she went over to Regina’s place to have dinner on the nights that Regina and Henry were not over at her place. There relationship seemed to grow more and more stronger as well. They seemed like a happy family together even though they were not living together. They were always around each another to the extent where if felt like they lived together. If Emma wasn’t spending the night at Regina’s place, Regina would be spending the night at Emma’s, while Zelena watched over Henry for the night.

As the days progressed into months, it was now time for Emma to graduate college. She had passed all her classes and once she finally got her Arts degree, she went on and applied for that children’s poem book writer job that was waiting for her. Emma had written some great children’s books already by now and some of them, Regina even helped her with. Once all Emma’s books finally got published one by one, Emma started getting book deals and autograph lines sold out in no time. The children loved her.

Regina had also finally finished the book she was writing as well, and when it came to getting it published, Emma had helped her by hooking her up with some people she knew from her publisher. Once Regina’s book finally got published and came out, she also became very famous just like Emma. Regina had sold out autograph lines and book deals just as Emma did. They seemed very happy together and they also made sure the whole world new they were taken by one another. They had a huge fan following in the LGBTQ+ community for how outspoken they where about their love life. Their life seemed very good from that point on.

Regina’s mother had gotten things quieted down and had managed to make the incident go away, so Regina could go back to teaching at the school although, Regina declined her mother’s offer. Regina felt happier being a writer and that is what she loved doing along with Emma. Emma felt like she could connect to Regina on a more powerful level because they had the love for writing in common. Emma and Regina felt very happy together and that was what made their life together so great. By now, Henry was a pro at signing and Regina wasn’t that bad at it by now. She still needed some help understanding some things, though she wasn’t bad.

Emma had an autograph line sold out one day and photographers where there to take Emma’s picture for the front cover of a magazine after her autograph line was finished. Upon their request Emma let them take a few pictures of just her, but once they were done, she pulled Regina over to the camera’s view and kissed her passionately. Days later Emma was walking past a newsstand when she noticed a magazine cover with her picture on it, as well as another little mini picture of her and Regina kissing. Underneath the photo, it said “love is in the air for this writer” and Emma’s heart just melted. She felt so happy.

Later that day at Regina’s place, after they had dinner, she had shown Regina the magazine and she saw how happy Regina looked when she saw it. Regina was smiling happily as she pulled Emma in for a kiss and Emma felt like the happiest and the luckiest woman alive. She knew that her life couldn’t get even better than this. With Regina by her side, she was genuinely happy and so was Regina. Regina and Emma continued to kiss passionately as they were holding each other tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will have a sequel if you all like it enough to want a sequel so let me all know what y’all think! Thank you all for reading!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Hearing Isn't Everything [Fanart]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26197504) by [Regal_Panda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regal_Panda/pseuds/Regal_Panda)




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